The Arthritis Foundation respects the privacy of each individual who contacts us. We are grateful for your support and the crucial roles you play in helping us continue our valuable work. As part of our commitment to safeguarding your privacy we have adopted the online privacy policy outlined below, which is applicable to all Arthritis Foundation web sites (“Sites”).
We collect two kinds of information, general usage data, which is not individually identifiable, and individually identifiable information.
General Usage Data
Our Web server automatically recognizes and collects the domain name of each visitor to the Sites. We collect information about visitors to the Sites, such as the number of visitors, what pages they access, and the length of their visit. We also may collect certain non-personally identifiable information when you visit the Sites or fill out forms such as the type of browser you are using (e.g., Internet Explorer, Firefox), the type of operating system you are using, (e.g., Windows Vista, Mac OS) and the domain name of your Internet service provider (e.g., AT&T, Comcast). This information is used in aggregate form in order to manage our web sites and improve its content.
Individually Identifiable Information
We collect individually identifiable information about you when you choose to share information about yourself, for example, when you make a donation, request information or sign up to be an advocate. This information may include, but is not limited to, your postal or e-mail address, your telephone number and the type of arthritis you have.
In addition, through the use of tools like Track & React, you will have the opportunity to submit personal health information. Personal health information is not shared except as in accordance with HIPAA regulations. In addition, personal health information that is associated with your profile and can be updated at any time by logging in and changing your information.
Use of Information
Individually identifiable information is used to provide you with information or to deliver the service you have requested and to provide you with additional services that we believe may be of interest to you. If you provide your postal address, telephone number or e-mail address to the Arthritis Foundation online, you may receive periodic contacts from us.
If you would like to change the way we contact you, please fill out the Privacy Preference Form.
At certain parts of the Sites, only persons who provide us with the requested personally identifiable information will be able to use tools or otherwise participate in the Sites' activities and offerings.
Some portions of the Sites, such as RA Connect, provide special services and offer interactive tools that allow users to upload information for public consumption. In some cases, users can share experiences, give advice and connect with others. Please remember that chat rooms, message boards and personal pages are public forums and personal information disclosed there will be seen by others. In addition, please exercise caution when posting information or providing information about yourself to others, especially contact information, such as street address, telephone number or email address. This privacy policy does not apply to any information posted by you in a public area of the Sites.
We use a technology called a "cookie" to recognize you when you return to the Sites. Cookies are small bits of electronic information that a web Sites can transfer to a user’s hard drive to help tailor the user experience to the users’ preferences. The use of cookies is standard on the Internet and many web sites use them. If you wish, you may direct your browser to reject cookies. However, please be aware that if you block cookies, some Sites functionality may be lost. For more information, see our Sites Help Tips.
From time to time, the Arthritis Foundation may make your personally identifiable information available to other worthy nonprofit and commercial organizations whose services may be of interest to our supporters. Any disclosure of personal health information shall only be done in accordance with HIPAA regulations. We carefully screen these organizations. If you do not want us to share your information with other companies or organizations, please fill out the Privacy Preference Form.
At times we may offer programs (e.g., contests, sweepstakes, or promotions) that are sponsored by or co-branded with identified third parties. By virtue of these relationships, the third parties may obtain personally identifiable information that visitors voluntarily submit to participate in the Sites activity. The Arthritis Foundation has no control over the third-party's use of this information.
We may share your personally identifiable information with affiliates and third parties, including e-commerce partners, who assist us by providing services on our behalf, including, but not limited to, credit card processing, fulfillment and shipping, database management, e-mail distribution, and Web Sites management. [Such parties may only use your personally identifiable information for the specific purpose for which they are provided the information.]
In the unlikely event that all or substantially all of our assets relating to the Sites are sold or transferred to another party, your personally identifiable information may be transferred to this acquiring entity. Finally, we may disclose your personally identifiable information to third parties in order to comply with law, law enforcement agencies, to protect our rights in or the safety of the Sites, or to protect the safety or rights of other users of the Sites.
We occasionally send out an email newsletter and direct email communications to Arthritis Foundation constituents to highlight news, information and opportunities available from the Arthritis Foundation. You can elect not to receive communications from us, either by completing our privacy preference form, or by noting your preference in response to communications from us. You may also select to receive only certain publications from the Arthritis Foundation by registering on our web sites and selecting your newsletter preferences. In addition, all Arthritis Foundation e-newsletters and direct email communications have easy-to-follow unsubscribe instructions at the bottom of each e-mail piece.
Our Sites provides links to other web sites where you can find out more about our sponsors or products. Please note that the Foundation is not responsible for the information practices of linked Sites. We encourage you to review the privacy policy of each Sites you visit.
Information Collected
The Arthritis Foundation produces a web site section (www.kidsgetarthritistoo.org) that is intended for use by children, including those under the age of 13 years. Protecting the privacy of children is especially important, and for this reason we have adopted certain policies and procedures. We do not collect any more personal information than reasonably necessary to enable children to participate in the activities we offer at our web site.
As described in this Privacy Policy, we directly collect personally identifiable information from a child when a user submits a form through our web site. This information may include the child's name, age, and gender. We also request a name, email address, mailing address and telephone number of the child’s parent or guardian so that we may seek parental permission to post personal stories submitted by the child.
Please note that parents may consent to the above collection and use without necessarily consenting to the disclosure of personal information to third parties.
We do not have any agreements with outside organizations to collect personal information at our site.
Use and Sharing of Information
The information we collect from children is compiled personal stories that may be published only after obtaining parental permission.
We do not share children’s personal information with anyone other than those who provide support for the internal operations of the web site and our agents (e.g., contractors who provide fulfillment services or technical support to the web site).
All third parties with whom we share information have agreed to maintain security and integrity of personal information.
Parental Review
Parents can review the information that we have collected from their children online, prevent the further use or maintenance of such information, or direct the deletion of their children’s personal information by calling us at the telephone number provided above, emailing us at the above address and/or writing to us at the above address.
In order to prevent unauthorized access and protect our users’ personal information, we strive to maintain physical, electronic and administrative safeguards to secure the information we collect online. For example, online shopping and contributions are processed using a secure server. This secure server software, SSL (Secure Sockets Layer), encrypts all information you input before it is sent to us. Furthermore, all of the customer transactional data we collect is protected against unauthorized access with the use of digital certificates. Notwithstanding our efforts to protect your information, no security system is completely impenetrable, so we cannot guarantee the absolute security of our databases, nor can we guarantee that information you supply to us will not be intercepted while in transit to us over the Internet.
For areas of our sites which require a login, you must help us protect against unauthorized access by keeping your password in a safe place and signing off when using a shared computer. We ask that you do what is reasonable to ensure the security of your personal information. We also take steps to ensure the security of your personal health information. All personal health information within tools like Track & React is encrypted to ensure compliance with HIPAA regulations.
Should you engage in harmful or dangerous activities that violate the reputation of the Arthritis Foundation, our users or any other person, your access may be terminated, without notice. Your account may also be terminated for extended periods of inactivity.
If we decide to change our privacy policy, we will post those changes here and the last date on which the privacy policy was updated will be listed below. We encourage you to review our policy from time to time.
Whenever you have any questions or concerns, please contact us through any medium you prefer. Your complete satisfaction in dealing with the Arthritis Foundation is important to us. If you have questions about the Arthritis Foundation’s privacy practices described above, please send an e-mail message to arthritisfoundation@arthritis.org.
If you have general questions about arthritis, please visit We Can Help for more information or to contact an information specialist.
The Arthritis Foundation follows the online Privacy Guidelines and the Guidelines on Ethical Business Practice of The Direct Marketing Association (DMA). For more information on these guidelines, visit the DMA at http://the-dma.org.
California Residents: Users who reside in California and have provided personally identifiable information to us may request information about our disclosure of certain categories of personal information to third parties for their direct marketing purposes. Such requests must be submitted to us at the following address: Arthritis Foundation, 1330 West Peachtree Street, Suite 100, Atlanta, GA 30309. Within thirty days of receiving such a request, we will provide a list of the categories of personal information disclosed to third parties for third-party direct marketing purposes during the immediately preceding calendar year, along with the names and addresses of the third parties that received the personally identifiable information.
Some opinions and recommendations contained in the Web Sites, especially in areas such as personal pages, message boards and chat rooms ("Interactive Areas"), are not necessarily those of the Arthritis Foundation or endorsed by the Arthritis Foundation. YOU ACKNOWLEDGE THAT ANY RELIANCE ON CONTENT POSTED IN AN INTERACTIVE AREA IS AT YOUR OWN RISK.
If you use an Interactive Area, you are solely responsible for your own communications and the consequences of posting those communications. The Arthritis Foundation does not assume any responsibility for the consequences of any Interactive Area communications on or arising from use of the web sites. In cases where you feel threatened or believe someone else is in danger, you should contact your local law enforcement agency immediately.
The Arthritis Foundation cannot and does not screen content provided by you or other Users to the web sites or any Interactive Area, and is not responsible for the content of these communications and materials. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Arthritis Foundation reserves the right to review the Web Sites and material from the web sites brought to the Arthritis Foundation’s attention and to remove content, which the Arthritis Foundation, in its sole discretion, determines to be
(a) abusive, libelous, defamatory or obscene,
(b) fraudulent, deceptive or misleading,
(c) in violation of a copyright or trademark, other intellectual property right of another or
(d) offensive or otherwise unacceptable to the Arthritis Foundation.
The Arthritis Foundation reserves the right to record the dialogue in public chat rooms. The Arthritis Foundation does not screen communications in advance and is not responsible for screening or monitoring material posted by Users or any other person or entity. If notified by a User of communication(s) which are alleged not to conform to the terms of this Agreement, the Arthritis Foundation may investigate the allegation and determine in its sole discretion to remove or request the removal of the communication(s). The Arthritis Foundation reserves the right to remove communications which are abusive, illegal, disruptive, profane or that otherwise fail to conform with this Agreement. In addition to the removal rights described above, the Arthritis Foundation reserves the right to terminate a User’s access to any or all Interactive Areas upon Subscriber’s breach of these Terms and Conditions. The Arthritis Foundation reserves the right (but is not obligated) to edit or delete any communication(s) posted on the web sites, regardless of whether such communication(s) violate these standards for content.
Furthermore, the Arthritis Foundation reserves the right (but is not obligated) to monitor, edit or disclose any type of communication(s) on the Interactive Areas for adherence to this Agreement, if required in the course of normal operation and maintenance of the web sites, or if required to do so by law or in the good-faith belief that such action is necessary to:
(i) comply with the law or comply with legal process served;
(ii) protect and defend the rights of the Arthritis Foundation or others; or
(iii) act in an emergency to protect the personal safety of our guests or the public.
The Arthritis Foundation HAS NO LIABILITY OR RESPONSIBILITY TO SUBSCRIBERS OR ANY OTHER PERSON OR ENTITY FOR PERFORMANCE OR NONPERFORMANCE OF THE AFOREMENTIONED SCREENING ACTIVITIES.
The Arthritis Foundation may provide links on the web sites to other web sites that are not under the control of the Arthritis Foundation. In general, any web sites that have an address (or URL) that does not contain "arthritis.org", “arthritistoday.org”, “letsmovetogether.org”, “fightarthritispain.org” or "jointsinmotion.org" is such a Web Site. These links are provided for convenience of reference only and are not intended as an endorsement by the Arthritis Foundation of the organization or individual operating the web site or a warranty of any type regarding the web site or the information on the web site.
The acceptance of advertising on Arthritis Foundation web sites does not constitute or imply endorsement by the Arthritis Foundation of any advertised product or service. People with arthritis should consult their physicians before using any medication or therapy. The Arthritis Foundation accepts no responsibility for any claims made in any advertisement.
Editorial content on Arthritis Foundation web sites is designed to help readers live better with arthritis. This content should not be considered a substitute for personal medical advice. Before taking any action to manage your specific condition, please consult with your physician. Editorial mention of a specific product, service or resource is for informational purposes only and does not imply an endorsement by the editors or by the Arthritis Foundation.
Interactive Tool Policy Statement
Interactive tools, such as Track & React, on Arthritis Foundation web sites are designed to help users understand and manage their arthritis and related activities. Registration and use of these tools are completely voluntary. The results from these tools should not be considered a substitute for personal medical advice from your physician. The Arthritis Foundation cannot guarantee tool errors, omissions, delays, interruptions or losses, including loss of data. However, every effort will be made to recover lost data and/or return the tool to a usable status as quickly as possible.
Collection and Use of Personal Data Privacy Statement
The Arthritis Foundation respects the privacy of every individual who contacts us. We are grateful for your support and committed to protecting your privacy. This notice supplements our Online Privacy Statement and describes our practices for safeguarding personal information provided by individuals who contact us offline.
The Arthritis Foundation may collect information from individuals who contact us via mail, phone or events. An Arthritis Foundation representative will generally ask of you the following information: name, address, phone number and contact preferences (“Contact Information”). They may also ask you whether you would like to receive information about the Foundation including information about making voluntary time and monetary contributions to the Foundation. If you call seeking patient-related arthritis information, an Arthritis Foundation Representative will ask for the type of arthritis and if your arthritis is doctor-diagnosed (“Health Related Information”). This information enables us to better assist you. All information you provide is voluntary.
In addition to information that you provide to us, we sometimes obtain additional information that is publicly available. This may include standard Contact Information, such as your name, phone number, and address. Other information depends on the activity.
For memorial contributions or contributions honoring an individual, we ask that you provide Contact Information of the person to whom you would like a personalized gift card sent. The information we collect is used to send the gift card and for informing the recipient of other Foundation programs and services and for no other purposes.
Data Use
We limit the use of the information you provide to us to the following:
If you did not provide your address in your initial contact with the Arthritis Foundation or you indicated that you did not want to receive information from the Foundation and have recently changed your mind, e-mail arthritisfoundation@arthritis.org or call our Arthritis Foundation Customer Service Center at 1-800-283-7800.
For details on how you may restrict the manner in which you are contacted, access to your information and data security, please refer to our Privacy Preference Form.
We recognize that you may wish to limit the ways in which we contact you so we provide the following options for restricting internal and external sharing of your Contact Information:
We do not share your Health Related Information outside of the Foundation and use of this information is limited within the Foundation. For more information on how you may notify us of any desired restrictions, please refer to our Privacy Preference Form. If you do not wish to opt out at this time, you may do so at a later date.
If you are not currently receiving information from the Foundation and would like to, please register online to indicate your preferences.
Upon request, we will provide you with the Contact Information that we maintain about you. The description will be sent via postal mail which we believe is the most secure method of communication. Further, we will respond to requests for updates or changes to your personal information. Contact us by email at arthritisfoundation@arthritis.org or in writing at:
Arthritis Foundation
c/o Privacy Requests/Marketing Department
1355 Peachtree St NE
6th Floor
Atlanta,GA 30309
To protect your privacy and security, we will take reasonable steps to verify your identity before providing information or making corrections.
To prevent unauthorized access, maintain data accuracy, and ensure the correct use of information, we strive to maintain physical, electronic, and administrative safeguards. Your data is stored in password-controlled servers where our staff is located. Personal health-related data can only be accessed by designated Foundation employees. Our staff is educated about the importance of safeguarding your information and is bound by a confidentiality agreement.
We welcome feedback and questions on this privacy statement. If for any reason you wish to contact us, send an e-mail to arthritisfoundation@arthritis.org or write to:
Arthritis Foundation
c/o Privacy Requests/Marketing Department
1355 Peachtree St NE
6th Floor
Atlanta,GA 30309
