Simulation Synthesis is committed to protecting you and your family's personal information when you are using our services. We want our services to be safe and enjoyable environments for our audience. This Web Policy relates to our use of any personal information you provide to us through the www.esperient.com and www.esperient.org websites.

In order to provide you with the full range of web services, we are sometimes required to collect information about you.

This privacy policy explains the following:

• what information we may collect about you;
• how we will use information we collect about you;
• when we may use your details to contact you;
• whether we will disclose your details to anyone else;
• your choices regarding the personal information you have provided to us;
• the use of cookies on our websites and how you can reject these cookies.

Our websites, blogs and forums contains hyperlinks to websites owned and operated by third parties. These third party websites have their own privacy policies, including cookies, and we urge you to review them. They will govern the use of personal information you submit or are collected by cookies whilst visiting these websites. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the privacy practices of such third party websites and your use of such websites is at your own risk.

What information will Simulation Synthesis collect about me?

When you sign up to participate in, or receive a service from, any Simulation Synthesis website, such as newsletters, competitions, forums, blog updates etc we will ask for personal information about you. This can consist of information such as your name, email address, postal address, telephone or mobile number, or date of birth. Different web pages may ask for different personal information. By entering your details in the fields requested, you enable Simulation Synthesis and its service providers to provide you with the services you select.

Please note that, sometimes on particular web pages, we will require you to provide additional personal information, and sometimes sensitive personal information (e.g. if you're using our online store you will provide your payment information). When we do this we will specify further on these web pages why we are collecting your information and how we will use it.

Simulation Synthesis also uses cookies (see below for details) and collects IP addresses (an IP address is a number that can uniquely identify a specific computer or other network device on the internet). We use analysis software to look at IP addresses and cookies for the purpose of enhancing your user experience. This information is not used to develop a personal profile of you and the log files are regularly purged. We also use your IP address to determine which country you are accessing the services from in order to plan for future improvements and language support.

How will Simulation Synthesis use the information they collect about me?

Simulation Synthesis will use your personal information for a number of purposes including the following:

• for "service administration purposes", which means that Simulation Synthesis may contact you for reasons related to the service you have signed up for, (e.g. to provide you with password reminders or to notify you that a particular service has been suspended for maintenance);
• to contact you about a submission you have made to the websites, including any content you provide.
• IP addresses are used to identify the location of users, the number of visits from different countries and also to block disruptive use; and
  to analyze and improve the services offered on Simulation Synthesis websites

Where Simulation Synthesis proposes using your personal information for any other uses we will ensure that we notify you first. You will also be given the opportunity to withhold or withdraw your consent for your use other than as listed above.

When will Simulation Synthesis contact me?

Simulation Synthesis may contact you:

• in relation to the functioning of any service you have signed up for in order to ensure that Simulation Synthesis can deliver the services to you;
• where you have opted to receive further correspondence;
• in relation to any contribution you have made to the Simulation Synthesis Web presence, e.g. on the Esperient Community forum; to invite you to participate in surveys about Simulation Synthesis products (participation is always voluntary); and for marketing purposes for Simulation Synthesis Software (when you have agreed to this).

Will Simulation Synthesis share my personal information with anyone else?

We will keep your information confidential except where disclosure is required or permitted by law (for example to government bodies and law enforcement agencies). Generally, we will only use your information within Simulation Synthesis for management purposes (such as planning website improvements, monitoring how many people look at which articles etc). However, sometimes Simulation Synthesis uses third parties to process your information (for example with our online payment processing supplier or for processing our web analytics). Simulation Synthesis requires these third parties to comply strictly with its instructions and Simulation Synthesis will require that they do not use your personal information for their own business purposes.

Information and media content posted in community forums

Simulation Synthesis retains the right to use images, sample scenes and information provided in the community forums for marketing and product development purposes on a fair use basis. Wherever possible, we will endeavor to contact providers of such information and media to inform them of its use prior to its release, using the contact details provided either in product or community registration. Wherever possible, when provided material is used, we will acknowledge the providers and any respective copyrights in full, based on information provided to us.

Offensive or inappropriate content on Simulation Synthesis websites

If you post or send offensive, inappropriate or objectionable content anywhere on, or to, Simulation Synthesis community resources, or otherwise engage in any disruptive behavior on our websites, Simulation Synthesis may use your personal information to stop such behavior.

What if I am a user aged 16 or under?

If you are aged 16 or under, please get your parent/guardian's permission before providing personal information to our websites. Without this permission you are now allowed to provide us with personal information.

Cookies Policy - Information Simulation Synthesis collects from you

a. What is a cookie?

A cookie is a small amount of data, which often includes a unique identifier that is sent to your computer or mobile phone (referred to here as a "device") browser from a website's computer and is stored on your device's hard drive. Each website can send its own cookie to your browser if your browser's preferences allow it, but (to protect your privacy) your browser only permits a website to access the cookies it has already sent to you, not the cookies sent to you by other sites. Many sites do this whenever a user visits their website in order to track online traffic flows.

Cookies record information about your online preferences and allow us to tailor the websites to your interests. Users have the opportunity to set their devices to accept all cookies, to notify them when a cookie is issued, or not to receive cookies at any time. The last of these means that certain personalized services cannot then be provided to that user and accordingly you may not be able to take full advantage of all of the website features. Each browser is different, so check the "Help" menu of your browser to learn how to change your cookie preferences.

Cookies enable website publishers to do useful things like find out whether the device (and probably its user) has visited the website before. This is done on a repeat visit by checking to see, and finding, the cookie left there on the last visit.

b. How does Simulation Synthesis use cookies?

Information supplied by cookies can help us to analyse the profile of our visitors and help us to provide you with a better user experience. We only use cookies for these purposes.