ezCater Privacy Policy

Last Updated: December 27, 2022

This Privacy Policy describes the types of information ezCater, Inc. (“ezCater,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) collects from and about you, how we use and disclose your information, and your choices regarding your information.

This Privacy Policy applies to the collection of information from visitors and users of our website www.ezcater.com and related mobile site(s) and mobile app(s), any other websites or mobile apps that link to this Privacy Policy, and all other services relating to your use of those websites and apps, such as our customer care services (collectively, our “Platform”).

If you are a California resident and would like to see a summary of the privacy disclosures applicable to you, please click here for our California Notice of Collection.

Your use of our Platform is subject to this Privacy Policy and our Terms of Use.

1. THE INFORMATION WE COLLECT

a. Information You Provide to Us

We collect information directly from you through your use of our Platform. The following describes common types of information you may provide us. Please note that some of the information we collect from and about you may be considered "sensitive personal information" under applicable law. We collect and process sensitive personal information in accordance with applicable legal requirements.

Information from Food-Ordering Users

  • Sign Up Information. When you sign up to place food orders through our Platform, you provide us with information such as your name, email address, phone number, industry and login information.
  • Order Information. When you place a food order through our Platform, you provide us details about your order, including the food provider from whom you are ordering food, the type and amount of food you are ordering, any dietary restrictions and preferences, the delivery time, location, and recipient name, and any other instructions. You also provide us with payment information, such as your credit or debit card details. We never store full payment information on our servers; that information is stored by a third-party payments processor where it is inaccessible to us.
  • User Content. You may voluntarily choose to submit or otherwise make available certain content through our Platform. For example, you may post reviews, photos, ratings, and other content such as comments, ideas, and other feedback. This Content may be publicly viewable by other Platform users. For example, if you post a rating or review, then that rating or review may be displayed along with your name and/or the city and state associated with your account.
  • Communications. If you contact us, we may receive information such as your name, email address, and/or phone number. We also will receive the contents of any communications you have with us. This might include requests, questions, and/or issues regarding your food orders, current, past, or prospective food providers on our Platform, your account, our Platform, or other topics you might raise.

Information from Food Providers

  • Contact and Business Information. If you are a food provider interested in being on our Platform, the information you provide us through the Platform might include your name, business name, number of locations, address(es), website URL(s), contact information, and any other information you choose to provide.

Information from Organizations

  • Contact and Business Information. If you are a company or other organization interested in learning how our Platform can help your employees place food orders for your organization's employees, customers or others, the information you provide us through the Platform to make such a request might include your name and contact information, your organization's name, and any other information you choose to provide.

Other Information

  • In addition to the information described above, we collect all other information any visitor or user of our Platform chooses to provide to us through the Platform.

b. Information We Collect Through Automated Means

We collect certain information about you automatically as described in this section.

  • Usage Data. We collect and analyze information about how you use our Platform. This information includes the dates and times you access our Platform, the features you use and the pages you visit, the type(s) of browser through which you access our Platform, the content you upload or post to our Platform, error logs and other system activity, and the webs or applications through or from which you access our Platform. We also collect and analyze information about your transactions through our Platform, including the type of services you requested or received, the date and time for which an order was placed or requested, and the amount charged.
  • Device Data. We collect and analyze information about the device(s) you use to access our Platform. This information might include your IP address, information about your device's hardware, the operating system on your device and the version of that operating system, your language preferences, unique device identifiers, advertising identifiers, and information about the mobile network you use.
  • Location Information. When you use the Platform, we and our service providers collect general location information from your computer or mobile device. “General” location information means information to identify the city and state in which your device is located based on its IP address. This information allows us to give you access to content that varies based on your general location (e.g., nearby food providers on our Platform, or delivery status) and to analyze delivery events. We will ask your permission before collecting your precise GPS location information. In such instances, we may use your precise geo-location information to provide customized services, content, promotional offers, and other information that may be of interest to you. You can disable geolocation tracking on your device. For more information, see the “Your Rights and Choices” section below.
  • Information from Cookies and Other Technologies. We and our service providers collect information through the use of “cookies” and similar technologies, such as tracking pixels, to understand how you navigate through and interact with our Platform, to learn what content is popular, to enhance the Platform and provide you with a more relevant and personalized experience, for authentication and advertising purposes, to save your preferences, and to collect certain usage, device and location information as described above. Cookies are small text files that web servers place on your device; they are designed to store basic information and to help websites and apps recognize your browser. We may use both session cookies and persistent cookies. A session cookie disappears after you close your browser. A persistent cookie remains after you close your browser and may be accessed every time you use our Platform. Tracking pixels (sometimes referred to as web beacons or clear GIFs) are tiny electronic tags with a unique identifier embedded in websites, online ads, and/or email; they are designed to collect usage information like ad impressions or clicks and email open rates, measure the popularity of our Platform and associated advertising, and access cookies. We and our vendors (including Google Analytics) also use these technologies and the information collected by them for data analytics purposes. You can find more information about Google's analytics practices at google.com/policies/privacy/partners. To prevent Google Analytics from using your information for analytics, you may install the Google Analytics Opt-Out Browser Add-on To generally update your cookies settings to notify you when a cookie is being set or updated or to disable cookies altogether, please consult your web browser settings. Please note that if you delete or choose not to accept cookies from us, you may miss out on certain features of our Platform. We may also use vendors to collect on a real-time basis information on how you use and navigate our Services. This may include mouse movements and how you scroll through our Services, but we do not collect keystroke data. The information (including your IP address) collected by the technology will be disclosed to or collected directly by these service providers, who use the information to evaluate your use of the Services.

c. Information We Collect from Others

We may collect information about you from third parties, including the following:

  • Food and Delivery Service Providers. If you place an order with a food provider, the food provider or delivery provider for the order may provide us information relating to your purchase or delivery, including your name, phone number, order details, and delivery information.
  • Log-in Services and Social Network Connections. If you access the Platform through a third-party connection or log-in (e.g., through a social network), you may allow us to have access to and store certain information from your social network profile. This information may include your name, gender, profile picture, your “likes,” and your list of friends, depending on your settings on such services. If you do not wish to have this information disclosed, do not use a social networking connection to access the Platform. For a description of how social networking sites handle your information, please refer to their privacy policies and terms of use, which may permit you to modify your privacy settings.
  • Other Third Parties. We may also receive additional information about you to supplement the information we collect directly, such as demographic, contact, and statistical information, from third parties, such as business partners, marketers, data co-ops (into which companies contribute certain information about their customers (e.g., name and email address) in exchange for information from one another to enhance their customer lists and preferences), researchers, analysts, and other parties.

Please note that if you are an employee of a food or delivery service provider, or if your employer has an ezCater corporate account or has otherwise engaged ezCater to facilitate food orders for its employees, customers or others, your employer may provide information about you in connection with their use of the Platform. Any information provided by your employer about you will be subject to the agreement we have with your employer, and not this Privacy Policy. For any questions related to the information your employer shares about you, please ask your employer.

d. California Notice of Collection

If you are a California resident, please click here to see our California Notice of Collection for information about our privacy practices in accordance with California law.

2. HOW WE USE THE INFORMATION WE COLLECT

We and our service providers use the information we collect from and about you for the following business and operational purposes:

  • Provide, improve, enhance, and promote our Platform
  • Analyze use of our Platform
  • Communicate with you, including for marketing and promotional purposes
  • Gain insights into prospective customers that might have an interest in our Platform
  • Facilitate transactions, deliveries, and payments
  • Provide customer support, including responding to questions, requests, and issues
  • Conduct research
  • Find and prevent fraud
  • Resolve disputes, protect ourselves and other Platform users and others, and enforce any legal terms that govern use of our Platform
  • Comply with laws, regulations, and other legal process and procedures

We may combine the information we collect through the Platform with information we collect automatically or receive from other sources and use such combined information in accordance with this Privacy Policy. We may also aggregate and/or de-identify information collected through our Platform in such a way that the information cannot reasonably be linked to you or your device. We may use de-identified or aggregated data for any purpose, including for research and marketing purposes, and we may disclose such data to any third parties, including advertisers, promotional partners, sponsors, and others.

3. ONLINE AND MOBILE APP ADVERTISING

a. Online Advertising

We may allow third-party advertising technologies (e.g., ad networks and ad servers such as Google's ad services, and others) on our Platform that use cookies and similar technologies to deliver relevant and targeted content and advertising to you on the Platform and other websites you visit and applications you use. The ads may be based on various factors such as the content of the page you are visiting, information you provide, your searches, demographic data, and other information we collect about you. These ads may be based on your current activity or your activity over time and across other websites and online services and may be tailored to your interests.

We sometimes also associate cookies with de-identified data linked to or derived from data you have submitted to us (e.g., your email address) and disclose such information to advertising partners and vendors in hashed, non-human-readable form to provide you with more relevant ads when you visit other websites and mobile applications.

We do not have access to, and this Privacy Policy does not govern, the use of cookies or other tracking technologies that may be placed on devices you use to access our Platform by non-affiliated third parties. If you are interested in more information about tailored browser advertising and how you can generally control cookies from being put on your devices to deliver tailored advertising, you may visit the Network Advertising Initiative's Consumer Opt-Out link or the Digital Advertising Alliance's Consumer Opt-Out link to opt out of receiving tailored advertising from companies that participate in those programs. To opt out of Google Analytics for display advertising or customize Google display network ads, visit the Google Ads Settings page.

For additional ways to out of targeted advertising activities under applicable law, see section 5(c) below.

Please note that these opt-outs apply per browser and per device, so you will have to opt out for each device—and each browser on each device—through which you access our Platform. In addition, the opt-outs do not apply to advertisements in mobile applications. See the “Mobile App Advertising” section below to learn how to opt out of mobile app advertising.

b. Mobile App Advertising

You may also receive tailored in-app advertisements when using the ezCater or other mobile apps. We may use third-party service providers to deliver ads on mobile apps or for mobile app analytics. Each operating system (iOS for Apple phones, Android for Android devices, and Windows for Microsoft devices) provides its own instructions on how to prevent the delivery of tailored in-application advertisements. Because we do not control how the applicable platform operator allows you to control receiving personalized in-application advertisements, you should review the support materials and/or the device settings for the respective operating systems for information on opting out of tailored in-application advertisements.

c. Notice Concerning Do Not Track.

Do Not Track (“DNT”) is a privacy preference that is available in certain web browsers. We are committed to providing you with meaningful choices about the information collected on our website for third party purposes, which is why we describe a variety of opt-out mechanisms above. However, we do not currently recognize or respond to browser-initiated DNT signals. Learn more about Do Not Track. Please note that Do Not Track is a different privacy mechanism than the legally-required browser-based “preference signal” referenced in the “Your Rights and Choices” section below.

4. HOW WE DISCLOSE THE INFORMATION WE COLLECT

We and our service providers disclose the information we collect from and about you for the following business and operational purposes:

  • Food Providers. We may disclose your name, contact, any dietary preferences and restrictions you have provided, and purchase information with food providers with whom you have placed orders, as well as with their affiliates. The information we disclose to food providers is not subject to this Privacy Policy, but instead is subject to the food provider's own privacy policy, which may allow the food provider, among other things, to send you marketing communications and other promotional content.
  • Food Recipients. If you are not the recipient of a food order you place, we may disclose your information to the food recipient to the extent we communicate with them with respect to the food order.
  • Your Employer. If you place orders for your employer, and your employer has an ezCater corporate account or has otherwise engaged ezCater to facilitate food orders for its employees, customers or others, we disclose your information to your employer.
  • Service Providers. We provide access to or disclose your information to third parties that perform services on our behalf, such as billing, payment processing, advertising, web and other analytics, data storage and processing, customer support, delivery services, security, fraud prevention, and other services.
  • Affiliates. We provide access to or disclose your information to our affiliates for the purposes described in this Privacy Policy.
  • For Legal Reasons or the Protection of ezCater and Others. We will disclose the information we collect about you if required by law or legal process or if we believe in good faith that disclosure is reasonably necessary to: (i) enforce our Terms of Use, this Privacy Policy, or other contracts with you, including investigation of potential violations thereof; (ii) respond to claims that any content violates the rights of third parties; and/or (iii) protect the rights, property or personal safety of ezCater, our Platform users, and/or others. This includes exchanging information with other companies and organizations for fraud protection, spam/malware prevention, and similar purposes.
  • Business Transfers. In the event of sale (of some or all of our assets), transfer, merger, reorganization, dissolution, or similar event involving our business (including in contemplation of such transactions), your information may be among the transferred business assets. If such transfer is subject to any mandatory restrictions under applicable laws, we will comply with those restrictions.
  • Other Unaffiliated Third Parties. We may also disclose your information to other unaffiliated third parties such as the following:
    • Third party parties we collaborate with in connection with integration, co-marketing and certain other coordinated efforts.
    • Third parties whose offers we believe you may value.
    • Data co-ops that allow us to provide certain information about our users (e.g., email address) and exchange such data with other participating companies for all such companies to enhance their customer records, identify potential customers, and contact potential customers.
    Notwithstanding the foregoing, we will not disclose personal information we collect about you solely through our SMS text programs to unaffiliated third parties for their own marketing purposes.
  • Your Consent. If you consent to our disclosure of your information, we will disclose your information consistent with your consent.

We may disclose aggregate or de-identified information to any third party, including advertisers, promotional partners, and sponsors, at our discretion.

5. YOUR RIGHTS AND CHOICES

In addition to the other rights and choices described in this Privacy Policy, you have these rights and choices regarding your information:

a. Rights Regarding Your Information

Depending on your jurisdiction, you may have the right to make certain requests regarding your “personal information” or “personal data” (as such terms are defined under applicable law, and collectively referred to herein as “personal information”). We extend these rights to all individuals, regardless of residency, subject to this Privacy Policy. Specifically, you have the right to ask us to:

  • Inform you about the categories of personal information we collect or disclose about you; the categories of sources of such information; the business or commercial purpose for collecting your personal information; and the categories of third parties with whom we disclose personal information.
  • Provide you access to and/or a copy of certain personal information we hold about you.
  • Correct or update personal information we hold about you.
  • Delete certain personal information we have about you.
  • Provide you with information about the financial incentives that we offer to you, if any.
  • Opt out of the processing of your personal information for purposes of profiling in furtherance of decisions that produce legal or similarly significant effects, if applicable.

You also have the right to opt out of “sales” of your information and “sharing/use of your information for targeted advertising” as described below in subsection c.

As provided in applicable law, you also have the right to not be discriminated against for exercising your rights. Please note that certain information may be exempt from such requests under applicable law. For example, we need to retain certain information in order to provide our services to you. We also need to take reasonable steps to verify your identity before responding to a request, which may include, at a minimum, depending on the sensitivity of the information you are requesting and the type of request you are making, verifying your name and email address. You are also permitted to designate an authorized agent to submit certain requests on your behalf. In order for an authorized agent to be verified, you must provide the authorized agent with signed, written permission to make such requests or a power of attorney. We may also follow up with you to verify your identity before processing the authorized agent's request. If you would like to correct or update your personal information please log into your account and make changes through your account settings. For further information regarding your other legal rights or if you would like to exercise any of the other rights, please click here or contact us at privacy@ezcater.com.

Depending on applicable law, you may have the right to appeal our decision to deny your request, if applicable. If we deny your request, we will provide you with information on how to appeal the decision, if applicable, in our communications with you.

b. Opting Out of Marketing Emails

You can unsubscribe from our marketing emails via the unsubscribe link provided in the emails or by updating your marketing preferences in your Profile page. Please note that it may take us some time, consistent with our legal obligations, to process your request. Even if you opt out from receiving marketing messages from us, you will continue to receive administrative messages from us, such as order confirmations, updates to our policies and practices, or other communications regarding our relationship or transactions with you.

c. Notice of Right to Opt Out of Sales of Personal Information and Processing/Sharing of Personal Information for Targeted Advertising Purposes

As explained in the “Other Unaffiliated Third Parties” provision in section 4 above, we sometimes disclose information to unaffiliated third parties we collaborate with or that provide offers that we think may be of value to you, or with data cooperatives. This disclosure of information may be considered a “sale” under applicable laws.

We also provide personal information to third-party advertising providers for targeted advertising purposes, so that we can provide you with more relevant and tailored ads regarding our services, or use analytics partners to assist us in analyzing use of our services and our user/customer base. The disclosure of your personal information to these third parties to assist us in providing these services may be considered a “sale” of personal information under applicable law, or, the processing/sharing of personal information for targeted advertising purposes.

If you would like to opt out of our online disclosure such as through cookie and pixel technology of your personal information for purposes that could be considered “sales” for those third parties' own commercial purposes, or “sharing” for purposes of targeted advertising, please . You can also submit a request to opt out of our offline disclosures of information that are subject to applicable opt out rights by clicking here. Please note that we do not knowingly sell the personal information of minors under 16 years of age without legally-required affirmative authorization.

Please note that if you have a legally-recognized browser-based opt out preference signal turned on via your device browser, we recognize such preference in accordance with applicable law.

d. Disabling Geo-location Tracking

If you granted us permission to collect your precise GPS location information and you no longer wish for us and our service providers to collect and use such information, you may disable the location features on your device through the device's operating system settings. Please note that if you disable such features, you may not be able to access or receive some or all of the services, content, and/or features made available via the Platform.

e. Notice of Financial Incentives

We may provide certain rewards or incentives for users who sign up for certain ezCater text message programs. You can opt into the rewards or incentives by signing up for an eligible text message program. Your participation is completely voluntary, and you have a right to withdraw from the program at any time. If you decide you don't want to participate, you can opt-out from the text message program. See our SMS Terms for more information, including how to opt-out. The specific reward or incentive offered, if any, is made available to you when you register for an eligible ezCater text message program. The monetary value of the reward or incentive is a reasonable approximation of the monetary value of participation in our text message program. We have arrived at this estimate based on consideration of multiple factors, including the following: (1) revenue generated by ezCater in connection with our text message programs; (2) expenses incurred by ezCater in operating our text message programs; and (3) improvement of products and services based on information obtained through our text message programs.

6. THIRD-PARTY LINKS AND FEATURES

Our Platform may contain links to third-party websites and third-party plug-ins, such as Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter. You also may connect from our Platform to third-party services, such as Concur. If you choose to use these sites or features, please note that we do not have control over the third parties that operate these websites and services and are not responsible for their content or privacy practices. We encourage you to read their privacy policies before using their websites or services or giving them your information.

7. INTERNATIONAL USERS

Please note that ezCater is located in the United States and provides the Platform, and processes your data, in the United States. In addition, ezCater may subcontract the processing of your data to, or otherwise disclose your data to, service providers and trusted business partners in countries other than your country of residence, including the United States, in accordance with applicable law. Such third parties may be engaged in, among other things, the provision of our Platform to you, the processing of transactions, and/or the provision of support services. By providing us with your information, you acknowledge any such transfer, storage, or use.

8. HOW WE PROTECT YOUR INFORMATION

We take measures to protect your information against accidental or unlawful destruction, loss, alteration, disclosure, or access. However, no method of transmission over the internet, and no means of electronic or physical storage, is absolutely secure. By using our Platform, you acknowledge and accept that we cannot guarantee the security of your information transmitted to, through, or on our Platform, and that any such transmission is at your own risk.

9. CHANGES TO OUR PRIVACY POLICY

We reserve the right to make changes to this Privacy Policy at any time. If we make a change, we will make the revised Privacy Policy accessible through our Platform. You can know if the Privacy Policy has changed since the last time you reviewed it by checking the “Last Update” date at the top of this Privacy Policy. If we make a material change to this Privacy Policy, we will notify you through the Platform, by email, and/or by other legally permissible communication. By continuing to use the Platform, you are confirming that you have read and understood the latest version of this Privacy Policy.

10. CONTACT INFORMATION

If you have any questions or comments about this Privacy Policy, please email us at privacy@ezcater.com You may also contact us by mail at:

ezCater, Inc.
Attn: Legal
40 Water Street, 5th Floor
Boston, MA 02109