APA Academic Writer Privacy Policy

The American Psychological Association (“APA”) believes that the protection and privacy of your Personal Data and Non-Personal Data (collectively “Data” or “Your Data”) is paramount and we value your right to privacy. APA strives to protect Data that we collect through your interaction with Academic Writer (the “Services”). This Academic Writer Privacy Policy applies specifically to the named Services and should be relied upon by Academic Writer users. Users of all other APA services and platforms should refer to our General Privacy PolicyOpens a new window.

Data you provide to us through your use of the Services helps to inform the APA about how best to provide you with a fulfilling user experience as it relates to our mission. Our goal is to ensure that Your Data is secure, and that APA only uses Your Data subject to the terms and conditions set forth below.

APA is committed to working with you to obtain a fair and rapid resolution of any queries, complaints, or disputes about privacy. If you have any questions or comments about this Academic Writer Privacy Policy or our information collection and data protection practices, please contact privacy@apa.org or 1-800-374-2721 or 202-336-5500 from anywhere.

Your consent

BY USING THE SERVICES, YOU CONSENT TO THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF THIS ACADEMIC WRITER PRIVACY POLICY, INCLUDING THE USE OF ESSENTIAL, PERFORMANCE, AND FUNCTIONAL COOKIES, AND TO APA PROCESSING YOUR DATA FOR THE PURPOSES STATED BELOW. IF YOU DO NOT AGREE TO THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF THIS ACADEMIC WRITER PRIVACY POLICY, PLEASE UNDERSTAND THAT YOUR USE OF THE SERVICES MAY NOT BE OPTIMIZED AND IN SOME INSTANCES YOU MAY NOT BE ALLOWED ACCESS TO SERVICES THAT REQUIRE APA TO VERIFY YOU AS AN AUTHORIZED USER.

Data APA collects

YOU PROVIDE DATA TO US TO USE THE SERVICES, CREATE YOUR ACCOUNT, OR TRANSACT BUSINESS WITH US.

We collect Data from all visitors (“Users”) to the Services in order to interact with you. The following are examples of the types of Data we collect:

1. Personal Data

   “Personal Data” is Data that you provide to us, or that we may otherwise collect, that identifies you directly. This also includes information that is associated with you and could potentially identify you, including when combined with other information from or about you. We will not collect or use Personal Data except as stated in this Academic Writer Privacy Policy. Personal Data may include, among other things, name, postal address, email address, payment and billing information, subscriptions or a combination of these and other Data. Additionally, Personal Data may include student information, such as a student’s email, first and last name, and/or internal school identification. Data regarding students collected from educational agencies or institutions that receive funds from programs administered by the United States Department of Education is governed by the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (“FERPA”). Please see our FERPA section for more information.

2. Non-Personal Data

   “Non-Personal Data” can be technical information or it can be demographic information. Non-Personal Data can be information that is automatically collected through the use of cookies for instance. Non-Personal Data does NOT identify you personally but may be tied together with other data to identify you. Please note that we also consider aggregated data, which is not personally identifiable, to be Non-Personal Data.

3. Automatically Collected Data

   When you visit the Services, we may automatically collect Data about you through the use of cookies. This Data includes the browser or operating system that you use, your IP address, the date and time you have viewed certain pages on the Services, by ways of example. Please see our Cookies section to find out more about how we use cookies and similar technologies.

How APA uses your data

WE USE YOUR DATA TO CONTACT YOU, PROVIDE SUPPORT , CONDUCT SURVEYS, AND PERSONALIZE OUR SERVICES TO YOU.

Except to the extent necessary to fulfill our business obligations as described in this Academic Writer Privacy Policy, we do not sell, transfer, or otherwise disclose to third parties any of the Personal Data that we collect directly from or about you.

We use Personal Data that is collected on the Services in the following ways:

• To deliver services, such as educational programs, including digital instructional resources that enhance scholarly writing and immerse students in a personalized learning experience to enrich psychology instruction; and information or newsletters you request or purchase;
• To alert you to special offers, updated information and other new services from APA, other third parties, or to forward promotional materials;
• To process your order and, if necessary, to contact you regarding the status of your order;
• To fulfill the terms of a promotion;
• To ensure the Services are relevant to your needs;
• To help us create and publish content most relevant to you;
• To request your feedback about your experience with APA;
• To notify you about a material change to this Academic Writer Privacy Policy, if necessary; and
• To allow you access to limited-entry areas of the Services; and
• For other business purposes that help optimize your experience as you interact with the Services.

Release of data to third parties

Personal Data collected as a function of the Services will not be released to third parties except to further the purpose for which you provided the Data and in the following instances:

• To fulfill a service to you including answering questions, completing an order or to follow through on a sweepstakes entry.
• To affiliates, strategic partners, agents, third party marketers or other unaffiliated parties who are offering products or services that we believe may be of interest to you or who require your Personal Data for research, administrative and/or internal business purposes. These parties may use your Personal Data to contact you with an offer or advertisement related to a product or service, or they may use such Data for their own research, administration or business purposes. If you do not want us to share your Personal Data in this manner, let us know.
• To unaffiliated third-party service providers, agents or independent contractors who help us maintain our Services and provide other administrative services to us (including, but not limited to, order processing and fulfillment, providing customer service, maintaining and analyzing data, sending customer communications on APA's behalf, and entry collection, winner selection and prize fulfillment for contests, sweepstakes and other promotions). We seek to ensure that these unaffiliated third parties will not use the Personal Data for any other purpose than to provide the administrative services for which they are responsible.
• To complete your purchase. If you choose to make a purchase on the Services, we may collect from you your credit card number, billing address and other Data related to such purchase, and we may use such collected Data in order to fulfill your purchase. We may also provide such Data to unaffiliated third parties as necessary to complete your purchase (for example, to process your credit card).
• To comply with the law or in the good faith belief that such action is necessary to conform to the requirements of law or comply with legal process served on us, protect and defend our rights or property, including the rights and property of APA and APA Services or act in urgent circumstances to protect the personal safety of our end users.
• To third parties as part of any corporate reorganization process including, but not limited to, mergers, acquisitions, and sales of all or substantially all of our assets.
• To track and analyze non-identifying and aggregate usage and volume statistical data from our Users and provide such Data to third parties.
• To protect against potential fraud, we may verify with third parties the Data collected from the Services. In the course of such verification, we may receive Personal Data about you from such services. In particular, if you use a credit card or debit card to purchase services with us, we may use card authorization and fraud screening services to verify that your card Data and address matches the Data that you supplied to us, and that the card has not been reported as lost or stolen.

Third party websites and advertisers

The Services may provide you with links to other websites, although we do not necessarily advise that you are linking to another website. In the event you choose to access such websites, APA is not responsible for any actions or policies of those sites. Further, please note that the third party's Privacy Policy, Cookie Policy or security practices may differ from this Academic Writer Privacy Policy. APA neither assumes responsibility for, nor does it control, endorse or guarantee any aspect of your use of the linked site. We recommend that you check the Privacy Policy, Cookie Policy and other pertinent security practices of such a party before providing Personal Data to it. For information on cookies, as well as links to opt-out, please see our Cookies section.

Forums, chat rooms and other public posting areas

Please note that any Data you include in a message you post to any chat room, forum or other public posting area is available to others. If you don't want people to know your email address, for example, don't include it in any message you post publicly. PLEASE BE EXTREMELY CAREFUL WHEN DISCLOSING ANY DATA IN CHAT ROOMS, FORUMS AND OTHER PUBLIC POSTING AREAS. WE ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR THE USE BY OTHERS OF THE DATA THAT YOU DISCLOSE IN CHAT ROOMS, FORUMS AND OTHER PUBLIC POSTING AREAS.

Opt-out of communications

We communicate with Users on a regular basis via email. For example, we will use your email address to confirm a request you have made of APA, to send you notice of upcoming payments that are due, to send you information about changes to our products and services or to send notices and other disclosures as required by law. Generally, users of the Services cannot opt-out of these communications since it is necessary to keep users informed of specific information regarding the Services and actions related thereto.

APA provides you the opportunity to exercise an opt-out choice if you do not want to receive other types of communications from us, such as messages or updates from us regarding new services and products offered on the Services or if you do not want us to share your Personal Data with third parties. For emails, you may opt-out by clicking on the "unsubscribe” link within the text of an email. We will process your request to unsubscribe as soon as possible, but please be aware that in some circumstances you may receive a few more messages until the unsubscribe is processed. If you have elected to receive notices to your mobile device via text message, you may opt-out by replying “STOP” to such mobile message. You may receive a confirmatory text message in response to your “STOP” request and you hereby consent to receipt of such confirmation.

Data retention

We keep your Data for as long as your relationship with the Services continues and as required by law. We retain your Data while you are an active user or as necessary to continue to provide the Services. This includes Data you or others provided to us and Data obtained from your use of the Services. There may be some instances where we retain Non-Personal Data in a deidentified or aggregated form.

Rights to access and control your personal data

You can access, change or delete Your Data if you have an account by logging into your account. You can also email us at privacy@apa.org or 1-800-374-2721 or 202-336-5500 from anywhere.

We collect Your Data in many ways, most often where you provide it to us, and we provide you with several options for collecting, using, and sharing of Your Data, including deleting or correcting Data you have provided to us. We offer you settings to control and manage Your Data through your account.

For personal data that we have about you

Delete Data: You can ask us to erase or delete all or some of Your Data (for example if you decide to stop using the Services) and we will work hard to honor all requests in a timely manner. In some instances, we may not be able to delete your Personal Data in order to comply with applicable laws (for example, it is necessary to keep the financial records of a transaction with you).

Change or Correct Data: You can edit some of Your Data through your account. You can also ask us to change, update or fix your data in certain cases, particularly if it’s inaccurate.

Object to, or Limit or Restrict, Use of Data: You can ask us to stop using all or some of Your Data.

Right to Access and/or Take Your Data: You have the right to see Your Data and take your data and we will work with you to be sure we can provide the most complete set of Your Data and a secure way to transfer Your Data.

Resignation/Account Closure: We will keep some of Your Data even after you discontinue the Services in order to fulfill any final service requests. Please note that we will retain Your Data even after you have discontinued the Services if reasonably necessary to comply with our legal obligations (including law enforcement requests), meet regulatory requirements, resolve disputes, maintain security, prevent fraud and abuse, enforce this Academic Writer Privacy Policy, or fulfill your request to “unsubscribe” from further messages from us. We will retain deidentified Data after your account has been closed.

Your Data may continue to be accessed by others until they refresh their cache.

Please note that APA will not delete or restrict access to Data about you where you have published in an APA journal or other APA publication including Division journals and/or newsletters. We will not delete historical Data that reference your service to APA or its Divisions in governance. We will not delete any comments or posts you have made on any of APA’s social media accounts or on any other of the Services.

Your California privacy rights

California Civil Code Section 1798.83 permits our visitors who are California residents to request certain information regarding the APA’s disclosure of personal data to third parties for their direct marketing purposes. To make such a request, please contact us at privacy@apa.org or 1-800-374-2721 or 202-336-5500.

How we respond to do not track signals

The “Do Not Track” (“DNT”) privacy preference is an option that may be made in some web browsers allowing you to opt-out of tracking by websites and online services. At this time, global standard DNT technology is not yet finalized and not all browsers support DNT. We therefore do not recognize DNT signals and do not respond to them.

Children's privacy

The Services are not directed to or intended for individuals under the age of 16. We do not knowingly collect Personal Data from children under 16. If we become aware that a child under the age of 16 has provided us with Personal Data, we will take steps to delete such information. If you become aware that a child under the age of 16 has provided us with Personal Data, please contact us at privacy@apa.org or 1-800-374-2721 or 202-336-5500.

Assignment

In the course of any direct or indirect reorganization process including, but not limited to, mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, bankruptcies, and sales of all or a part of our assets, you grant us the right to share, transfer, or assign the Data collected via the Services following completion of such transaction and/or during the assessment process pending transfer. If transferred in such a case, your Data would remain subject to this Academic Writer Privacy Policy or a policy that, at a minimum, protects your privacy to an equal degree as this Academic Writer Privacy Policy.

Contacting APA

Users may contact APA’s Data Protection Officer through email at privacy@apa.org or 1-800-374-2721 or 202-336-5500 from anywhere. You may also mail us directly: American Psychological Association, 750 First Street NE, Washington D.C. 20002 Attn: Office of General Counsel.

Consent to transfer

If you are visiting the Services from a location outside of the U.S., your connection may be through and to servers located in the U.S. Any information you provide during your visit will be processed and maintained on our server and other internal systems located within the U.S. The U.S. may not have the same data protection laws as the country you are visiting from and may not afford many of the rights conferred upon data subjects in your country. You acknowledge you understand that by providing your Personal Data to us, your Personal Data (i) will be used for the uses identified above in accordance with this Academic Writer Privacy Policy, and (ii) may be transferred to the U.S. as indicated above, in accordance with applicable law.

EU user consent

For Users of this website located in the European Union (“EU”), APA follows the Google EU User Consent Policy found at this link: https://www.google.com/about/company/user-consent-policy.htmlOpens a new window. By voluntarily using this website, EU Users consent to APA’s data collection, sharing, and usage as described above.

EU data subjects

This section applies if you are an EU data subject (for these purposes, reference to the EU also includes the European Economic Area countries of Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, the United Kingdom and, where applicable, Switzerland).

APA is the data controller for processing Personal Data provided to us through the Services. Our registered office is 750 First Street NE, Washington D.C. 20002.

We collect and use Personal Data when we have a lawful basis to do so, as follows:

• At your direction and with your consent.
• To fulfill contracts we might have with you.
• For public interest.
• For vital interests.
• For other legitimate business purposes.
• To comply with a legal obligation.

We will only use your Personal Data for the purposes for which we collected it, unless we reasonably consider that we need to use it for another reason and that reason is compatible with the original purpose.

If there is any change in the purposes for which we collect your Personal Data, we will inform you of such change. If you wish to obtain an explanation as to how the processing for the new purpose is compatible with the original purposes, please contact us through the contact details provided at the top of this Academic Writer Privacy Policy. If we need to use your Personal Data for an unrelated purpose, we will notify you and will explain the legal basis which allows us to do so.

Subject to applicable law, you have the following rights in relation to your Personal Data:

• Right of access: If you ask us, we will confirm whether we are processing your Personal Data and, if so, provide you with a copy of that Personal Data (along with certain other details). If you require additional copies, we may need to charge a reasonable fee.
• Right to rectification: If your Personal Data is inaccurate or incomplete, you are entitled to have it rectified or completed. If we have shared your Personal Data with others, we will tell them about the rectification where possible. If you ask us, where possible and lawful to do so, we will also tell you with whom we shared your Personal Data so that you can contact them directly.
• Right to erasure: You may ask us to delete or remove your Personal Data and we will do so in some circumstances, such as where we no longer need it (we may not delete your data when other interests outweigh your right to deletion). If we have shared your data with others, we will tell them about the erasure where possible. If you ask us, where possible and lawful to do so, we will also tell you with whom we shared your Personal Data so that you can contact them directly.
• Right to restrict processing: You may ask us to restrict or ‘block’ the processing of your Personal Data in certain circumstances, such as where you contest the accuracy of that Personal Data or object to us processing it. We will tell you before we lift any restriction on processing. If we have shared your Personal Data with others, we will tell them about the restriction where possible. If you ask us, where possible and lawful to do so, we will also tell you with whom we shared your Personal Data so that you can contact them directly.
• Right to data portability: You have the right to obtain your Personal Data from us that you consented to give us or that is necessary to perform a contract with you. We will give you your Personal Data in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format. You may reuse it elsewhere.
• Right to object: You may ask us at any time to stop processing your Personal Data, and we will do so:
  • If we are relying on a legitimate interest to process your Personal Data — unless we demonstrate compelling legitimate grounds for the processing; or
  • If we are processing your Personal Data for direct marketing.
• Rights in relation to automated decision-making and profiling: You have the right to be free from decisions based solely on automated processing of your Personal Data, including profiling, unless such profiling is necessary for entering into, or the performance of, a contract between you and us. APA does not make decisions based solely on automated processing.
• Right to withdraw consent: If we rely on your consent to process your Personal Data, you have the right to withdraw that consent at any time. This will not affect the lawfulness of processing based on your prior consent.
• Right to anonymity: You have the right to request anonymity. This means that your Personal Data would not be collected or processed. If you choose to exercise this right, we may not be able to provide you with your requested goods or services.
• Right to lodge a complaint with the data protection authority: If you have a concern about our privacy practices, including the way we have handled your Personal Data, you can report it to the data protection authority that is authorized to hear those concerns.

How we protect your personal data

We maintain reasonable risk-based physical, technical, and administrative safeguards to protect against unauthorized and accidental disclosure, use, alteration, or destruction of personal data in our possession, and to maintain the confidentiality, integrity, availability, and resilience of our systems, data, and services. We restrict access to Personal Data to those individuals and third parties that need to know the information to accomplish the business purposes described in this Academic Writer Privacy Policy. We are committed to taking appropriate measures to enforce compliance with this Academic Writer Privacy Policy. In addition, we comply with applicable law for protecting Personal Data.

We provide reasonable security controls to protect electronic Data that we receive from you against foreseeable hazards, but please note that no data transmission over the Internet can be guaranteed to be 100% secure. In addition, use of email to transmit Data is insecure and violates this Academic Writer Privacy Policy. Consequently, we cannot ensure or warrant the security of any information you transmit to us and you understand that any information that you transfer to us is done at your own risk. If we learn of a security system breach we may attempt to notify you electronically so that you can take appropriate protective steps. By using the Services or providing information to us, you agree that we can communicate with you electronically regarding security, privacy and administrative issues relating to your use of the Services. We may post a notice via our Services if a security breach occurs. We may also send an email to you at the email address you have provided to us in these circumstances. Depending on where you live, you may have a legal right to receive notice of a security breach in writing.

FERPA

APA acknowledges that it may have access to data that personally identifies individual students and other education records collected from educational agencies or institutions that receive funds from programs administered by the United States Department of Education (“Student Data”) as covered under the scope of FERPA and its implementing regulations. To the extent APA has access to or receives Student Data covered by FERPA, APA agrees to abide by the limitations and requirements imposed by FERPA.

APA also agrees to abide by rights afforded to parents and students under FERPA, as applicable. Specifically, parents and students may have the following rights:

1. The right to access, inspect, and review Student Data;
2. The right to challenge and correct the contents of Student Data;
3. The right to prevent disclosure of Student Data without prior written consent.

If APA discovers that it has processed Student Data in a manner inconsistent with the requirements of FERPA, APA will either (a) delete the Student Data or (b) promptly seek the necessary consents before taking further action concerning the Student Data.

Changes in our Academic Writer Privacy Policy

Any changes to our Academic Writer Privacy Policy will be posted on this page and other places we deem appropriate so that you are always aware of our policies. Additionally, we will update the “last updated” date below. If we make a material change to this Academic Writer Privacy Policy, we will notify you in advance and present an opportunity to decline and opt-out.

Cookies

When you use the Services, we automatically collect certain information about your device, including information about your web browser, IP address, time zone, and some of the cookies that are installed on your device. Additionally, as you use the Services, we collect information about the individual webpages that you view, what websites or search terms referred you to the Services, and information about how you interact with the Services. We hope that this Academic Writer Privacy Policy helps you understand, and feel more confident about, our use of cookies. If you have any further questions, please contact us at privacy@apa.org or 1-800-374-2721 or 202-336-5500 from anywhere. You may also mail us directly: American Psychological Association, 750 First Street NE, Washington D.C. 20002 Attn: Office of General Counsel.

What is a cookie?

“Cookies” are small text files that are stored on your computer or mobile device. They are widely used in order to make websites work, or work in a better, more efficient way. They can do this because websites can read and write these files, enabling them to recognize you and remember important information that will make your use of a website more convenient (e.g., by remembering your user preferences). If the browser is loading a page and the server requests the data stored in the cookie, the data contained within the cookie is sent back to the server.

Cookies may be either “persistent” or “session” cookies. APA uses persistent cookies to enable the Services to recognize you when you visit or return to the Services. Persistent cookies will remain stored on your computer until you delete them or until it expires automatically at its expiration date. Session cookies are temporary cookies that typically expire at the end of the web browsing session on a website. APA uses session cookies to keep track of you while you navigate the Services. A session cookie expires at the end of the user session, i.e. when the web browser is closed.

What cookies do we use?

Below we list the different types of cookies we may use on the Services.

Essential Cookies. These cookies are essential to our Services in order to enable you to move around it and to use its features. Without these absolutely necessary cookies, we may not be able to provide certain services or features and the Services will not perform as smoothly for you as we would like. Users cannot withdraw consent for essential cookies.

Performance Cookies. Performance cookies, which are sometimes called analytics cookies, collect information about your use of this Site and enable us to improve the way it works. For example, performance cookies show us which are the most frequently visited pages on the website, allow us to see the overall patterns of usage on the Site, help us record any difficulties you have with the Site and show us whether our advertising is effective or not. Users must consent for performance cookies.

Functionality Cookies. In some circumstances, we may use functionality cookies. Functionality cookies allow us to remember the choices you make on our Services and to provide enhanced and more personalized features, such as customizing a certain webpage, remembering if we have asked you to participate in a promotion and for other services you request, like watching a video or commenting on a blog. All of these features help us to improve your visit to and use of the Services.

How do I manage cookies?

You may refuse to accept cookies from these Services at any time by activating the setting on your browser which allows you to refuse cookies. For more information about cookies, and how to disable cookies, visit https://www.allaboutcookies.orgOpens a new window. Additionally, the Digital Advertising Alliance provides an opt-out mobile app to control interest-based advertising on apps on your mobile device, available on the Apple StoreOpens a new window, Google PlayOpens a new window, and Amazon’s AppstoreOpens a new window. For more information about how targeted advertising works, visit the Network Advertising Initiative’s (“NAI”) to learn more and opt-out of interest-based advertising by clicking hereOpens a new window.

Please be aware that if cookies are disabled (in particular the essential and functionality cookies), not all features of the Services may operate as intended.

LAST UPDATED: NOVEMBER 2022