Effective Date: May 1,
2005
At General Mills, we are very sensitive to the privacy concerns
of visitors to all of our websites, including this one. Though we
do not obtain any personal information that individually identifies
you (e.g., your name, address, phone number, e-mail address, etc.)
unless you affirmatively provide it to us, many visitors do choose
to provide us with such information. This Privacy Policy explains
our online information practices and the choices you, as a visitor
to this site, can make about the collection and use of your
information.
We collect personal information from you (such as your name,
address, phone number, e-mail address, etc.) only when you
voluntarily provide it to us. Depending on the purpose for which
the information was provided, we may use the information to
communicate with you regarding our products, services, and
promotions, to provide you with other information that you request,
and/or to improve our product and service offerings.
Here are the circumstances in which we might ask for personal
information from our consumers though our site, the types of
information we obtain, and how we use the information:
- If you contact one of our Consumer Services Representatives
through our site, we may ask you for personal information such as
your name, address, phone number, or e-mail address so that we can
respond to your questions or comments. (Of course, if you send us
an e-mail, we will at a minimum obtain your e-mail address.)
- You may be asked to provide personal information if you:
- register for a sweepstakes, contest, or
other promotion;
- register as a user of our site;
- register to receive coupons through our site;
- join a club through our site;
- participate in a survey, a consumer research panel,
or similar type of activity;
- ask to receive an online newsletter or other
information or material from us; or
- otherwise participate in features of our website that
ask for personal information.
- If you purchase or otherwise request a product, publication, or
promotional offering from us or take advantage of a rebate or
similar offer, you may be required to provide your contact and/or
payment information (such as a credit card number) in order for us
to process your request.
Your participation in any of these activities (and therefore your
provision of personally identifiable information) is entirely
voluntary. We may use the information you provide to respond to
your questions or comments, to administer our promotions and sites,
to fulfill your request, subscription, or order, or to otherwise
provide or improve our products and services. We will not send you
any online newsletter or similar e-mail communication unless you
expressly consent to receive such a communication from us. And if
you do choose to receive any such e-mail communication from us, you
will always have the opportunity to "unsubscribe" from receiving
the e-mail at any time.
We may employ cookie technology, web beacons, and similar devices
on our site to facilitate site administration and navigation and to
provide an enhanced online experience for our visitors. Information
tracked through these mechanisms includes but is not limited to (1)
a user's IP address (e.g., yahoo.com - 192.168.1.1), (2) the type
of web browser (e.g., Microsoft Explorer) and operating system
(e.g., Windows or Linux) being used, (3) the pages of the site a
user visits, and (4) other websites a user visited before visiting
our site.
Most browsers accept cookies automatically, but can be
configured not to do so or to notify the user when a cookie is
being sent. If you wish to disable cookies, refer to your browser
help menu to learn how to disable cookies. Please note that if you
disable cookies, you may be unable to access some customized
features on our site. Cookies do not collect or contain your
name or e-mail address.
Web beacons are 1x1 single-pixel graphics that allow us to count
the number of users who have visited a particular web page or to
access certain cookies. We may use web beacons on our websites to
count users and to recognize users by accessing our cookies. Being
able to access our cookies allows us to personalize our website and
improve your experience at our website. We may also include web
beacons in HTML-formatted e-mail messages that we send to determine
which e-mail messages were opened. Like cookies, web beacons do
not collect or contain your name or your e-mail address.
We may employ cookie technology, web beacons, and similar devices
on our site to facilitate site administration and navigation and to
provide an enhanced online experience for our visitors. Information
tracked through these mechanisms includes but is not limited to (1)
a user's IP address (e.g., yahoo.com - 192.168.1.1), (2) the type
of web browser (e.g., Microsoft Explorer) and operating system
(e.g., Windows or Linux) being used, (3) the pages of the site a
user visits, and (4) other websites a user visited before visiting
our site.
Most browsers accept cookies automatically, but can be
configured not to do so or to notify the user when a cookie is
being sent. If you wish to disable cookies, refer to your browser
help menu to learn how to disable cookies. Please note that if you
disable cookies, you may be unable to access some customized
features on our site. Cookies do not collect or contain your name
or e-mail address.
Web beacons are 1x1 single-pixel graphics that allow us to count
the number of users who have visited a particular web page or to
access certain cookies. We may use web beacons on our websites to
count users and to recognize users by accessing our cookies. Being
able to access our cookies allows us to personalize our website and
improve your experience at our website. We may also include web
beacons in HTML-formatted e-mail messages that we send to determine
which e-mail messages were opened. Like cookies, web beacons do not
collect or contain your name or your e-mail address.
We may share your personal information with other parties if you
consent to us sharing such information with third parties.
We also may provide your personal information to third parties
who provide services on our behalf. These parties may use the
information solely in conjunction with the specific services they
provide for us (e.g., fulfillment of an order, responding to your
question or comment, providing a sweepstakes prize, deployment of a
consumer survey, investigation of a complaint, etc.).
We reserve the right to transfer any information we have about
you in the event that we sell or transfer all or a portion of our
business or assets to a third party. We also reserve the right to
share information within General Mills amongst our various
businesses.
We reserve the right to disclose any personal information as
needed if such information is requested by law enforcement agencies
or if we are required to do so by law, regulation, subpoena, court
order, or by a government entity. We also may disclose personal
information to third parties if we have reason to believe that
disclosing such information is necessary to conduct investigations
of possible breaches of law, to cooperate in any legal
investigation, or to identify, contact, or bring legal action
against someone who may be violating the terms of use of our
site.
At General Mills, we are
committed to keeping your online transactions safe and secure. In
order to reasonably assure the privacy and security of your credit
card and other personal data when making an order, we use Secure
Sockets Layer (SSL) technology. SSL uses encryption technology to
create a secure connection between your computer and ours. We have
also put procedures in place to safeguard the information/data we
collect from you. We cannot absolutely guarantee the security of
any information you provide online; you provide it at your own
risk.
Our site may contain links to the websites of our subsidiaries and
affiliates, and to websites that are owned and operated by third
parties. These other websites may have their own privacy policies
and would not be governed by this Privacy Policy. We are not
responsible for the privacy practices or the content of websites
owned and operated by any such third parties. Other websites may
collect and treat information collected differently, so we
encourage you to carefully read and review the privacy policy for
each website you visit.
Users of chat rooms and message/bulletin boards
that may be on our site should be aware that when they voluntarily
disclose personally identifiable information (e.g., name, e-mail
address, etc.) on a message/bulletin board, in a chat area, or
other interactive area where personal information can be posted,
the information can be collected and used by other internet users.
This may result in unsolicited messages from other posters or
parties. We make no representations and undertake no obligations as
to the security of information you voluntarily post in chat rooms
and message/bulletin boards.
This site may, from time to time, include a
send-to-a-friend application that makes it easy for you to forward
information or materials from our site to friends or family by
e-mail. In order to address your e-mail message, the application
will ask you to input the recipient's e-mail address and/or similar
information (including your e-mail address). This information is
only used by the application to address your message so that it can
be properly sent. General Mills does not retain any of this
information for any purpose.
A special note to parents: This site is not
directed to children and we will not request any information from
children under 13 at this site. General Mills does have other
websites that are geared in whole or in part to a child audience.
Our commitment to the privacy of children is described more fully
in the privacy policies of those websites. General Mills and its
affiliated companies takes special care of the privacy of children
under the age of 13. We have developed our privacy practices as
they relate to children from guidelines established by the
Children's Advertising Review Unit (CARU) and in compliance with
the requirements established by the Children's Online Privacy
Protection Act of 1998 ("COPPA"). We also recommend that parents
monitor their children's Internet activities and learn and employ
software or other tools which can help their children enjoy the fun
and entertainment of an on-line experience without compromising
their personal safety or allowing them to use the Internet in a
manner inconsistent with their parents' preferences.
This website is intended for use by residents of
the United States of America only. All matters relating to this
site are governed by the laws of the State of Minnesota in the
United States of America. If you are located outside of the United
States of America and you contact us, please be advised that any
information you provide to us will be transferred to the United
States of America and that by submitting information, you
explicitly authorize its transfer.
We reserve the right to change or replace this
Privacy Policy at our sole discretion at any time. Please check
back from time to time to ensure that you are aware of any updates
or changes in this Privacy Policy.
By using this website, you signify your
assent to all of the terms of this Privacy Policy and our Terms of Use. If you do not agree with any term of
this Privacy Policy or our Terms of Use,
please do not use this site or submit any personally identifiable
information.
Should you have any questions or concerns about this
Privacy Policy or about our collection or use of information,
please e-mail us at GeneralMills.com . You may also reach us by telephone at
1-800-328-1144.
