Privacy Policy

Smart Way Communications, LLC Privacy Policy

And Your California Privacy Rights

Effective Date: February 7, 2024

Smart Way Communications, LLC (“Smart Way,” “us,” “we,” or “our”) values the privacy and security of customer Personal Information. This Privacy Policy describes the types of customer Personal Information collected, used, disclosed, retained, secured and disposed by us.

This Privacy Policy applies to visitors and users of Smart Way’s website, https://ThinkSmartWay.com/legal and applicants, current and former residential and commercial/business customers of our high-speed internet access services and VoIP services (individually, “Service” and collectively, “Services”) residing in the United States. All such visitors, users, applicants, current and former residential and commercial/business customers are collectively, “Customers” “you,” and “your.”

Any capitalized terms used herein shall have the same meaning as defined in the Smart Way Service Agreements.

By using Smart Way’s Site and Services, Customers consent to the data practices described in this Privacy Policy regarding the collection, use, disclosure, and disposal of your Personal Information. Smart Way’s Site and Services are designed and targeted to United States audiences and are governed by and operated in accordance with the laws of the U.S. If Customer is not a U.S. citizen or does not reside in the U.S., Customer voluntarily consents to the collection, transfer, use, disclosure and retention of Customer Personal Information in the U.S. Customer also agrees to waive any claims that may arise under Customer’s own national laws.

Your California Privacy Rights Under the Shine The Light Act

Generally, California residents that have a business relationship with Smart Way are entitled by the “Shine the Light Act” (“Act”) to ask for information identifying the categories of Personal Information that Smart Way shared with our Affiliates and/or other third parties for their marketing purposes the preceding year, and provide contact information for such Affiliates and/or third parties unless Smart Way meets certain exceptions in the Act. This Privacy Policy and Site meet those exceptions. Importantly, Smart Way does not target or knowingly provide Services to California residents, nor does Smart Way share Customer Personal Information with Affiliates or third parties for their own marketing purposes. If you are a person residing in California and you believe that you have an established business relationship with Smart Way and have questions regarding our policy regarding the Act, you must send your questions via email or postal mail following the instructions below.

Smart Way will not accept requests via the telephone or facsimile or respond to requests that are not labeled or sent properly, or do not have complete information.

For all requests, include Customer’s full name, street address, city, state and zip code.

If sent via email request, Customer must state “Re: Your California Privacy Rights” in the subject line and send Customer email to legal@thinksmartway.com

If sent via postal request, Customer must send a letter or postcard to:

141 Garland Drive, SW, New Philadelphia, OH 44663 Attention: Your California Privacy Rights, Legal

GENERAL INFORMATION

When Customer uses the Service, the Personal Information Customer voluntarily sends and receives is transmitted over a wireless network, and may be subject to interception by unauthorized third parties. While it is Smart Way’s objective to take reasonable measures to reduce the risk that unauthorized third parties will intercept the information Customer sends and receives through the Service, Smart Way cannot and does not make any guarantee that transmissions over the Internet are 100% secure or error-free.

Smart Way does not knowingly collect, solicit or use Personal Information from anyone under the age of 13. If Customer is under age 13, please do not attempt to register for the Services or send any Personal Information about yourself to Smart Way. If Smart Way learns that Smart Way has collected Personal Information from a child under age 13, Smart Way will delete that information as quickly as possible to the extent technically feasible. If Customer believes that its child under age 13 may have provided Smart Way Personal Information, please contact Smart Way at legal@thinnksmartway.com

WHAT TYPES OF INFORMATION DO WE COLLECT AND HOW DO WE USE THIS INFORMATION?

Generally, Personal Information is information Customer provides to Smart Way voluntarily or passively through Customer’s use of the Services and/or Site, that identifies, relates to, describes, is reasonably capable of being associated with, or could reasonably be linked, directly or indirectly, with a particular consumer or household. For the purposes of this Privacy Policy, we also define Personal Information to include such information related to our commercial/business Customers and their end users.

The following are the different ways and reasons we collect Customer Personal Information:

Registration process, billing, and administration: Customer name, email address, phone number (wireless and wireline), billing address and billing information (such as credit card account number or other financial account information), service address, and the nature of any of Customer devices or other property making use of the Service. Personal Information also includes Customer proprietary network information (“CPNI”) which is created by virtue of your relationship with Smart Way when you subscribe to our VoIP services or other telephony services. CPNI includes any information that relates to the telephony services purchased (including specific calls you make and receive), quantity, technical configuration, type, destination, location, and amount of use of our VoIP service, such as call detail, logs, and specifics regarding your VoIP account (such as billing information). Please note that by law, CPNI does not include a customer’s name, postal address, or telephone number. We will also use this same Personal Information for the installation, troubleshooting, maintenance of the Services, and servicing of equipment.

Social Network Platforms:

Facebook: We may collect data including users’ public profile information, email addresses, and data related to activities on our Facebook page such as likes, comments, and shares. This information is used for community engagement, customer service, and targeted marketing campaigns.

Instagram: We may gather information such as users’ public profile details, posts they interact with on our profile, and direct messages sent to our account. This data helps in audience analysis, brand promotion, and user engagement.

TikTok: We may collect user data including profile information, video interactions, and comments on our posts. The purpose is to understand content performance, enhance user engagement, and drive marketing strategies.

Twitter: We may collect data including profile information, tweet interactions, and direct messages. This is used for engaging with users, promoting our services, and analyzing the reach and impact of our tweets.

The Personal Information collected from these platforms is in accordance with their respective privacy policies and terms of service, and is intended to improve our services, engage with users, and provide tailored content.

Some forms of information as described below will be classified as Personal Information if required by applicable law or when such information is directly associated with or reasonably linked to a specific person, computer or device, or is combined with other forms of Personal Information.

SMS/MMS Communications

Smart Way Communications may send SMS and/or MMS communications for promotional, conversational, and informational purposes, but only with the prior express consent of the recipient.

Consent to Communications

When you opt-in to receive SMS/MMS communications from Smart Way Communications, you expressly consent to Smart Way Communications sending you SMS and/or MMS messages for the purposes described in “SMS/MMS Communications”. Smart Way Communications does not charge any fees for these messages; however, message and data rates may apply, as determined by your mobile carrier.

Our Use of Automated Dialling Technologies

Smart Way Communications may use an automatic telephone Dialling system (“ATDS”) or other automated technologies to send you SMS and/or MMS messages for the purposes described in “SMS/MMS Communications”. By providing your consent, you acknowledge and agree to receive such communications delivered through automated technologies.

SMS/MMS Communications

To opt out of SMS communications at any time, reply with “STOP” or “UNSUBSCRIBE” to any SMS/MMS message we send you. If you unsubscribe from receiving text messages, there may be a short delay while Smart Way Communications processes your request(s). During this time, you may continue to receive SMS communications from us. For assistance with opting out of SMS communications, please contact us at Josh Rowe
jrowe@thinksmartway.com.

No mobile information will be shared with third parties/affiliates for marketing/promotional purposes. Information sharing to subcontractors in support services, such as customer service is permitted. All other use case categories exclude text messaging originator opt-in data and consent; this information will not be shared with any third parties.

Website Information, Use of Cookies and other Similar Tracking Technology:

When you visit Smart Way’s Site, Smart Way will collect information on Smart Way server logs from Customer’s browser or device, which may include Customer IP address, unique device identifier, “cookie” information, the type of browser and/or device you’re using to access the Service, and the page or feature Customer requested. Cookies” and “web beacons” are text file identifiers Smart Way transfers to Customer’s browser or device that allow Smart Way to recognize Customer’s browser or device and tell Smart Way how and when pages and features on the Smart Way website are visited, by how many people, and other activity on the website. Customer can change the preferences on Customer’s browser or device to prevent or limit Customer’s device’s acceptance of cookies, web beacons or other similar technology, but this may prevent Customer from taking advantage of some of the features on the Smart Way website, or accessing certain functions and conveniences. If Customer clicks on a link to a third party website or service, such third party may also transmit cookies to Customer. Again, this Privacy Policy does not cover the use of cookies or other such tracking technology by any third parties, and Smart Way is not responsible for their privacy policies and practices. Smart Way also uses Personal Information and Non-Personal Information to enhance the Smart Way website and Smart Way Service offerings. For example, such information can tell Smart Way how often visitors use a particular feature of the Smart Way website and which products and services are most interesting to current and potential customers, and Smart Way can use that knowledge to make the website useful and interesting to as many users as possible and to enhance and refine Smart Way’s Service offerings. Smart Way will continue to conduct analytics on Smart Way website performance; Customer may not opt-out of this use of cookies or other Personal Information or Non-Personal Information. Technology is improving every day and to improve Smart Way’s Services’ operation and function Smart Way may introduce new technologies and monitoring techniques without advance notice or consent from Customer. Smart Way may also use third party providers to conduct such internal analyses.

Network Information: Smart Way also collects Network Information, information about Customer access to, and use of, the Smart Way Network, which may or may not be directly associated with or reasonably linked to a specific person, computer or device. For example, Smart Way may collect information about the performance of the Provider Equipment installed on Customer property or at Customer premises, when Customer is using the Service, the various devices Customer is using to access the Service, the amount of data Customer is transmitting and receiving, the content of the data Customer are transmitting and receiving, the websites Customer is visiting, and any other information that is transmitted over the Smart Way Network. Smart Way may also aggregate Network Information from multiple customers and Smart Way will share such aggregated Non-Personal information about the overall performance of the Smart Way Service and the Smart Way network with our Affiliates and other third parties. Aggregated information does not identify a specific individual, computer or device. We use Network Information to monitor and enhance the performance of the Smart Way network. Smart Way will not monitor the content of the websites viewed or email communications as part of Smart Way’s standard network management.

Generally, Smart Way will only monitor and preserve the following Network Information:

When Customer is using the Service;

How Customer is using the Service, such as monitoring traffic patterns regarding websites visited, amount of data being sent or received, or other activity;
The amount of data Customer is transmitting and receiving through the Service; and
General information regarding the performance of the Provider Equipment installed on Customer’s property or at Customer’s premises, and its interaction with the rest of Smart Way’s network.

However, Smart Way reserves the right to, and may, monitor, access, review and preserve any Network Information and/or content in the following situations:

In response to an inquiry from Customer or another Authorized User on Customer’s account regarding Customer or their use of the Service or problems Customer or they are experiencing using the Service;
If Smart Way has reason to believe Customer is using the Service in violation of Customer’s Service Agreement or any applicable statutes, rules, ordinances or regulations;
If Smart Way has reason to believe Customer use of the Service is negatively affecting other Customers; or
When Smart Way is required by law or legal process to do so, or when Smart Way in good faith believes that Smart Way is required by law or legal process to do so.

IS PERSONAL INFORMATION USED FOR MARKETING AND ADVERTISING PURPOSES?

Smart Way will use Customer Personal Information to send marketing and advertising messages related to our own Services and Site using Customer’s email address, postal address, or telephone number (for voice, texts, automated and pre-recorded calls).

Smart Way may deliver a marketing or advertising message based on Customer visits to Smart Way website, which will be general advertising or “Contextual Advertising,” which is advertising based on the subject matter or the content of the specific website page or subject matter.

Smart Way may also send Customer “First Party Advertising,” which is advertising or marketing that is customized or personalized based on a history of Customer’s use of our Services (possibly combined with information from our Facebook fan page or other social network platforms). First Party Advertising is based solely on a combination of information Smart Way collects from Customer – not from Customer’s visits to other websites across the Internet. Smart Way may use CPNI for its own First Party Advertising for products/services a Customer has already purchased. We will need your consent before using CPNI for marketing or advertising unrelated services. Customer may opt-out of First Party Advertising but not Contextual Advertising. No Personal Information is used to deliver Contextual Advertising; it automatically will appear based on the content or webpage Customer is viewing. And Customer may continue to receive general advertising if Customer opts-out of First Party Advertising, it will not be customized or personalized for Customer.

Smart Way does not provide third party “Network Advertising,” which is advertising based on Customer’s overall Internet usage across different third party websites or online services. Multiple third party websites and online services are involved in this tailored or personalized advertising process, in essence a “network” of advertising providers. Because Smart Way does not provide network ads, Smart Way does not recognize the “Do Not Track” settings on various Internet browsers. Smart Way does not engage or allow third parties to track you across the Internet and across time for advertising purposes.

LINKS TO THIRD PARTY WEBSITES AND SERVICES

The Smart Way Site and/or our Facebook Pages (or other social networking platforms) may contain a variety of content and functionality and may provide links to other third party websites or online services. Despite such links, this Privacy Policy applies only to Smart Way and our Affiliates. The presence of a link does not constitute or imply Smart Way’s endorsement, recommendation, or sponsorship of the content, goods, services, business or privacy practices on such websites or online services. Smart Way encourages Customers to be aware and informed when Customers leave Smart Way’s Site and Smart Way’s Facebook Pages, or any other social networking platforms.

DO WE DISCLOSE CUSTOMER PERSONAL INFORMATION TO THIRD PARTIES?

Customer’s Personal Information will only be disclosed to third parties (including Smart Way’s Affiliates) as listed in this Privacy Policy, and if Smart Way has received your consent at the time Smart Way collects your Personal Information or prior to the disclosure of any Personal Information. Smart Way reserves the right to fully use, disclose and process any non-Personal Information collected from Customer in any manner as well as any information Customer makes public via Smart Way Services or Site.

To Our Affiliates and Resellers. Smart Way relies on various Affiliates and Resellers in order to provide the Services to Customers. Affiliates are companies that are related to Smart Way by common ownership or control. Resellers are independent third party businesses that will offer Smart Way’s Services to either their own customers, or operate as agents to Smart Way and sell our Services. Smart Way may share Personal Information and non-Personal Information with any of our Affiliates and Resellers for business, operational, promotional and/or marketing and advertising purposes related to our Services.

To Our Operational Service Providers: Smart Way and its Affiliates contract with other companies and people to perform tasks or services on Smart Way’s behalf and need to share Customer Personal Information to provide products or services to Customers. For example, Smart Way may use a payment processing company to receive and process Customer’s ACH or credit card transactions for Smart Way, or Smart Way may contract with third parties to assist Smart Way in optimizing Smart Way’s network. Unless Smart Way tells Customer differently, Smart Way does not grant its Operational Service Providers any right to use the Personal Information Smart Way shares with them beyond what is necessary to assist Smart Way.

For Business Transfers/Restructuring: Smart Way may choose to buy or sell assets, or Smart Way may sell assets or be sold. In these types of transactions, customer Personal Information is typically one of the business assets that would be disclosed and transferred. Also, if Smart Way (or Smart Way’s assets) are acquired, or Smart Way goes out of business, enters bankruptcy, or goes through some other change of control, including restructuring, reorganization or financing arrangements, Personal Information could be one of the assets disclosed, transferred to or acquired by a third party.

For Protection of Smart Way, and Our Affiliates, Employees, Operational Service Providers, Users and Customers and Public Safety: Smart Way reserves the right to access, read, preserve, and disclose any Personal Information Smart Way has access to if Smart Way believes doing so will implement and/or enforce the Service Agreement, Website Terms of Use Agreement, Privacy Policy or any legal document; protect our Network(s), website(s), and company assets; protect the interests, rights, property, and/or safety of Smart Way or Our Affiliates, employees and officers/directors, Operational Service Providers, Resellers, Customers, agents, representatives, third party licensors or suppliers, or the general public.

When Required by Law or in Response to Legal Process: Smart Way reserves the right to access, read, preserve, and disclose any Personal Information when Smart Way is required by law or legal process to do so, or if Smart Way has a good faith belief that Smart Way is required by law or legal process to do so.

HOW DO WE PROTECT CUSTOMER PERSONAL INFORMATION?

Smart Way endeavors to protect the privacy of Customer’s account and other Personal Information using reasonable administrative, technical and physical security measures. However, Smart Way cannot and does not guarantee complete security. Unauthorized entry or use, hardware or software failure, and other factors, may compromise the security of Personal Information at any time. Customer’s account is protected by a User ID and password for Customer’s privacy and security. It is Customer’s responsibility to prevent unauthorized access to Customer’s account and Personal Information by selecting and protecting Customer password and/or other sign-on mechanism appropriately and limiting access to Customer computer, tablet or device and browser by signing off after Customer has finished accessing Customer’s account. Customer is required to notify us immediately if Customer’s password or account has been disclosed to a person whose name does not appear on Customer’s account, even if you have allowed such disclosure. Customer understands, acknowledges and agrees that Customer is solely responsible for any use of Smart Way Services via Customer’s username and password.

Additionally, if Customer contacts Smart Way via Site, telephone or in person, Smart Way will ask Customer for verification of Customer’s identification and account. [INSERT CLIENT’S CPNI VERIFICATION/AUTHENTICATION PROCESS HERE]

Smart Way will not send an email or text, nor should Customer respond to any email or text communications asking for any sensitive or confidential Personal Information, such as social security number, bank account or credit card account number, or a driver’s license number. If Customer receives an email or text requesting any such information from Smart Way or someone that claims they are with Smart Way or Our Affiliates please contact our Privacy Administrator immediately: legal@thinksmartway.com. For Smart Way’s IT Support Services as detailed in our Services Agreement, the code that allows Smart Way to access Customer’s computer desktop to help resolve technical problems is limited only for that specific session. Smart Way is not able to access Customer’s Computer without Customer’s knowledge, affirmative consent and involvement.

WHAT DISCLOSURE CHOICES DO CUSTOMERS HAVE?

Customer can always choose not to disclose Personal Information to Smart Way; however, certain Personal Information is necessary for Smart Way to provide the Service to Customer. Customer may opt out of sharing Personal Information with Our Affiliates only for marketing or advertising purposes, but not for business or operational purposes. Customer may opt out of email marketing and advertising from Smart Way or its Affiliates using the “Unsubscribe” mechanism in each email. Before Smart Way sends Customer a text for any reason, or sends Customer a pre-recorded call that contains advertising or marketing information, Smart Way will secure Customer’s prior written express consent, which can be given via a voice recording, email, text message, postal mail, or telephone key press. Non-telemarketing pre-recorded calls do not require Customer’s prior express consent in writing, unless they are sent to a wireless device. Customer understands, acknowledges and agrees that such texts and pre-recorded telemarketing calls may be sent using an autodialer and are not conditioned on your purchase of the Service. Customer may opt out of receiving text messages any time by replying “STOP” or “UNSUBSCRIBE” to the text message. Customer may opt out of receiving pre-recorded calls by the opt-out instructions in the call. Customer can also request to be added to Smart Way’s company-specific Do Not Call list to opt-out of advertising and marketing calls of all types. However, Customer will continue to receive calls related to debt-collection and Customer’s current Service. Customer may also opt-out of First Party Advertising, but not Contextual Advertising, as detailed in the “Use of Personal Information for Marketing or Advertising Purposes” section above. Customer may not opt out of Smart Way’s use of cookies or other similar technology, or use of Customer’s Personal Information and Non-Personal Information for Smart Way’s internal analytics used to monitor activity on Smart Way’s website, measure Smart Way’s Service performance, or to operate and protect the Smart Way Network.

WHAT PERSONAL INFORMATION CAN CUSTOMERS ACCESS, MODIFY AND/OR DELETE?

Generally, Customer may access the following Personal Information in Customer’s account:

Full name
Username and password
Email address
Telephone number; and
Billing and Service address
Account and billing information

By contacting Smart Way at legal@thinksmartway.com or through any online access portal and/or via telephone, Smart Way may enable Customers to view, access and modify Customer account settings, and in some cases, edit or delete the Personal Information listed above. Smart Way will retain historic email, billing and/or Service addresses for security and verification purposes indefinitely and Customers may not delete such information even after the subscription expires or terminates.

Existing Customers may not delete any Personal Information because such information is necessary to provide and bill for the Services; Customers may only update or modify the following Personal Information: billing address, email and phone.

Smart Way may use any aggregated data derived from Customer’s Personal Information but not in a manner that would identify Customer personally. Smart Way may also maintain Personal Information regarding Customer and Customer’s use of the Service after Customer is no longer a Smart Way customer as required by Smart Way’s business practices, by law, and/or tax reporting purposes. The information Customer can view, update, and delete may also change if required by law. If Customer has any questions about viewing or updating information Smart Way has on file about Customer, please contact Smart Way at legal@thinksmartway.com

WILL THIS PRIVACY POLICY EVER CHANGE?

Yes, Smart Way is constantly working to improve the Service, so Smart Way will need to update this Privacy Policy from time to time as Smart Way’s business practices change and service offerings increase, and/or there are changes in local, state or federal laws. Additionally, Smart Way will also make stylistic, organizational and/or grammatical changes to present Smart Way privacy practices in a user-friendly easy to read manner. Smart Way will alert Customers to any such changes by placing a notice on Smart Way’s Site and App with the effective date of the revised Privacy Policy, and/or by sending Customers an email, or by some other means to the extent required by law. Please note that if Customers have not provided Smart Way with Customer’s email address or Customer has not updated Customer contact information, those legal notices will still govern Customer use of the Service, and Customer is still responsible for reading and understanding all notices posted on Smart Way’s website. Customer’s continued use of the Service or website after notice of any changes have been provided will indicate Customer’s acceptance of such changes, except where further steps are required by applicable law.

Use of Customer’s Personal Information is primarily governed by the Privacy Policy in effect at the time the Customer subscribed to the Service or visited the Smart Way website. If Smart Way elects to use or to disclose Personal Information that identifies Smart Way as an individual in a manner that is materially different than that stated in the Privacy Policy in effect at the time you subscribed to the Service or visited the Smart Way Site, Smart Way will provide Customer with an opportunity to consent to such use or disclosure. Depending on the circumstances, that consent may include an opt-out.

WHAT IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS ABOUT THIS PRIVACY POLICY?

If you have any questions or concerns regarding Smart Way’s privacy practices and policies, please contact Smart Way at legal@thinksmartway.com