Terms of Service


Our Services

Welcome to People sharing!

Be who you are, share what you have and get to know neighbours.

In short, share yourself. Knock on the senior's door and take him to wine country. Tutor the neighbour's kid in math. Give away your books to the family three doors down. Take your community into your own hands and all will be and feel better.

It's local

It's social and enjoyable

It's meaningful and fulfilling

It's there

It's safe

It's easy

It's cheap & sensible

It's money

It feels good

It's ethical and practical

It's not governed

It's good for the planet

It's not anonymous

Better neighbourhood

It's smart

It's not boasting, showing off, self-promotion, competitive or superficial

It's familiar

It's spiritual

It's direct

It's supportive

It's a good time

It's not bureaucratic

Have power and control

Be as good as you want

It's not about the deal

Registration (free)

Our Terms of Use

We'll take responsibility for the platform, you take responsibility for your community and we'll all get along just fine.

These Terms of Use, the Privacy Policy, the Mobile Devices Terms and all policies posted on our site set out the terms on which we offer you access to and use of our site, services, applications and tools (collectively “Services”).

All policies are incorporated into these Terms of Use. You agree to comply with all the below when accessing or using our Services.

Please read these terms of use carefully. By registering for an account and by accessing or using the services, you agree to be bound by these terms of use and all terms incorporated by reference. If you do not agree to all of these terms, do not access or use the services.

These Terms of Use (“Terms”) apply to your access to and use of any website, mobile application or other online or mobile product or service (collectively, the “Services”) of People sharing Inc. (“People sharing Inc.,” “we” or “us”). If you are using the Services on behalf of any entity, you represent and warrant that you are authorized to accept these Terms on such entity's behalf and that such entity will be responsible for your violation of these Terms. Failure to use our Services in accordance with these Terms may result in, among other things, termination or suspension of your rights to use the Services and may subject you to legal action by and/or severe civil and/or criminal penalties.

We reserve the right to make changes or modifications to these Terms, or any policy or guideline of our Services, at any time and in our sole discretion. If People sharing Inc. makes changes to these Terms, we will provide notice of such changes, including by revising the date at the top of these Terms. Your continued use of our Services following the posting of changes or modifications will constitute your acceptance of such changes or modifications. Accordingly, you should frequently review these Terms and applicable policies and guidelines to understand the terms and conditions that apply to your use of the Services.

You have sole responsibility when interacting with other members. Our Services provide a platform for members to arrange sharing agreements, engage in activities and communicate with one another. People sharing Inc. is not a party to, has no involvement or interest in, makes no representations or warranties as to, and has no responsibility or liability with respect to any communications, transactions, interactions, disputes or any relations whatsoever between you (and children in your charge) and any other member, person or organization. You are solely responsible for your interactions (and those of children in your charge) with other members of our Services. We reserve the right, but have no obligation, to monitor interactions between the person using your account and other members of our Services.

Remember, the People sharing Inc. Services are a only platform that enable you (and children in your charge) to communicate and interact with other people in your neighbourhood and around the world. We cannot be responsible for the interactions that you or others in your charge have with other People sharing Inc. members, so please use good judgment and our safety measures when you use our Services. Please ensure any child in your charge using the site through your account also uses good judgment and keeps safety in mind. You alone are responsible for monitoring the behavior of any child using your account.

Identity Verification. We cannot and do not confirm each member's identity. You are solely responsible for determining the identity and suitability of others with whom you may interact through our Services. People sharing Inc. does not represent or warrant that our tools are sufficient to determine whether it is appropriate for you to interact with another member. Further, we do not endorse any persons who use or register for our Services. We do not investigate or verify any member's reputation, conduct, morality, criminal background, or any information members may submit to the Services. We encourage you to take precautions when interacting with other members, particularly when meeting a stranger in person for the first time.

Member-Hosted Activities and Events: Members may organize in-person meetings and host events for other People sharing Inc. members; however, these events are not sponsored or endorsed by People sharing Inc. and members attend such meetings and events at their own risk. People sharing Inc. members are not agents of People sharing Inc. and People sharing Inc. is not responsible or liable for any acts or omissions of these members.

Release: Because our Services are merely a platform, in the event that you have a dispute with one or more members, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law you release us (and our officers, directors, members, employees, agents and affiliates) from claims, demands and damages (actual and consequential) of every kind and nature, known and unknown, suspected and unsuspected, disclosed and undisclosed, arising out of or in any way connected with such disputes.

The Services include interactive areas where you or other members can create, post or store content, messages, materials, data, information, text, music, sound, photos, videos, graphics or other items or materials on the Services (collectively, “Member Content”). You are solely responsible for your use of such interactive areas and agree that your use of these areas is at your own risk.

SUBMISSIONS

Separate and apart from Member Content, we welcome questions, comments, suggestions and ideas about People sharing Inc. and our Services (“Submissions”). If you provide a Submission, whether by email or otherwise, you agree that it is non-confidential (unless People sharing Inc. states otherwise in writing) and shall become the sole property of People sharing Inc. People sharing Inc. shall own exclusive rights, including all intellectual property rights, and shall be entitled to the unrestricted use and dissemination of Submissions for any purpose, commercial or otherwise. You acknowledge that People sharing Inc. is not obligated to provide acknowledgment or compensation to you in exchange for Submissions.

REPEAT INFRINGER POLICY

In accordance with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (“DMCA”) and other applicable law, People sharing Inc. has adopted a policy of terminating, in appropriate circumstances and in People sharing Inc.'s sole discretion, members who are deemed to be repeat infringers. People sharing Inc. may also, in our sole discretion, limit access to the Services and/or terminate the accounts of any members who we believe may infringe any intellectual property rights of others, whether or not there is any repeat infringement.

DISCONTINUANCE OF SERVICES

We may, in our discretion and without liability to you, with or without prior notice and at any time, modify or discontinue, temporarily or permanently, any portion of our Services.

DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTIES

If you use our services, you do so at your sole risk. Our services are provided on an “as is” and “as available” basis. To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, we expressly disclaim, and you waive, all other warranties of any kind, whether express or implied, including, without limitation, implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, title and non-infringement as to the services, including the information, content and materials contained therein.

We do not represent or warrant that (a) our services will meet your requirements; (b) our services will be uninterrupted, timely, secure, or error-free; (c) any information that you may obtain through our services will be accurate or reliable; (d) the quality of any products, services, information or other material purchased or obtained by you through our services will meet your expectations; (e) any information you provide or we collect will not be disclosed to third parties; or (f) any errors in any data or software will be corrected.

If you access or transmit any content through the use of our services, you do so at your own discretion and your sole risk. You are solely responsible for any loss or damage arising out of such access or transmission; therefore, you should use industry-recognized software to detect and disinfect viruses from any download.

No data, information or advice obtained by you in oral or written form from us or through or from our services will create any warranty not expressly stated in these terms.

Limits on liability

Subject to applicable law, in no event shall People sharing Inc., or our directors, members, employees or agents be liable for any special, indirect or consequential damages, including, but not limited to loss of use, loss of profits or loss of data, whether in an action in contract, tort (including but not limited to negligence) or otherwise, even if we have been advised of the possibility of such damages, arising from or relating to: (a) the use or inability to use our services; (b) the cost of replacement of any goods, services or information purchased or obtained as a result of any information obtained from or transactions entered into through or from our services; (c) disclosure of, unauthorized access to or alteration of your content; (d) damages for loss or corruption of data or programs, service interruptions or procurement of substitute services, even if we know or have been advised of the possibility of such damages; (e) statements, conduct or omissions of any service providers or other third party on our services; (f) your or anyone else's conduct or acts in connection with the use of the services; or (g) any other matter arising from, relating to or connected with our services or these terms.

We shall not be liable for any failure or delay in performing under these terms, whether or not such failure or delay is due to causes beyond our reasonable control.

In no event will our aggregate liability to you or any third party in any matter arising from or relating to our services or these terms exceed the sum of one hundred us dollars ($100).

Some jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion of certain warranties or the limitation or exclusion of liability for incidental or consequential damages. Accordingly, some of the limitations of sections may not apply to you.

Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in these terms, nothing in these terms excludes or limits our liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence or for fraud.

INDEMNITY

You shall defend, indemnify and hold harmless People sharing Inc. (and each of our officers, directors, members, employees, agents and affiliates) from any claim, demand, action, damage, loss, cost or expense, including without limitation reasonable attorneys' fees, arising out of or relating to (a) your use of our Services; (b) any Member Content or Submissions you provide; (c) your violation of these Terms; (d) your violation of any rights of another; or (e) your conduct in connection with the Services. Further, if you are using the Services on behalf of any entity, you represent and warrant that such entity agrees to indemnify you and People sharing Inc. for violations of these Terms in accordance with this Section. If you are obligated to indemnify us, we will have the right, in our sole and unfettered discretion, to control any action or proceeding and determine whether we wish to settle it, and if so, on what terms.

REPORTING MISCONDUCT

If you interact with anyone through our Services who you feel is acting or has acted inappropriately, including but not limited to offensive, violent or sexually inappropriate behavior, who steals from you or engages in any other disturbing conduct, we strongly encourage you to immediately report such person to the appropriate authorities and to us by contacting us by email. Please note that although we encourage you to report misconduct, we are not responsible or liable for our members' actions, and we are not obligated to take any action.

DISPUTES

PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING PARAGRAPH CAREFULLY BECAUSE IT REQUIRES YOU TO ARBITRATE DISPUTES WITH PEOPLE SHARING INC. AND IT LIMITS THE MANNER IN WHICH YOU CAN SEEK RELIEF. You and People sharing Inc. agree to arbitrate any dispute arising from these Terms or relating to the Services, except that you and People sharing Inc. are not required to arbitrate any dispute in which either party seeks equitable or other relief for the alleged unlawful use of copyrights, trademarks, trade names, logos, trade secrets or patents. SUBJECT TO ANY RIGHTS YOU MAY HAVE UNDER APPLICABLE LAW, ARBITRATION PREVENTS YOU FROM SUING IN COURT OR FROM HAVING A JURY TRIAL. You and People sharing Inc. agree that you will notify each other of any dispute within thirty (30) days of when it arises, that you will attempt informal resolution prior to any demand for arbitration, that any arbitration will occur in Toronto, Ontario. You and People sharing Inc. also agree that the provincial or federal courts in Toronto, Ontario have exclusive jurisdiction over any appeals of an arbitration award and over any suit between the parties not subject to arbitration. Other than class procedures and remedies discussed below, the arbitrator has the authority to grant any remedy that would otherwise be available in court. WHETHER THE DISPUTE IS HEARD IN ARBITRATION OR IN COURT, YOU AND PEOPLE SHARING INC. WILL NOT COMMENCE AGAINST THE OTHER A CLASS ACTION, CLASS ARBITRATION OR OTHER REPRESENTATIVE ACTION OR PROCEEDING.

MISCELLANEOUS

Assignment. You may not assign any of your rights or obligations under these Terms without prior written consent from People sharing Inc. People sharing Inc. may assign any or all of its rights under these Terms, in whole or in part, without obtaining your consent or approval.

Entire Agreement. These Terms contain the entire agreement, and supersede all prior and contemporaneous understandings, between the parties regarding their subject matter.

Waiver. Our failure or delay in exercising any right, power or privilege under these Terms shall not operate as a waiver thereof.

Severability. The invalidity or unenforceability of any of these Terms shall not affect the validity or enforceability of any other of these Terms, all of which shall remain in full force and effect.

www.pplsharing.com is provided to you by:

People sharing Inc.,

862 Main St. East

Suite 150

Hamilton, Ontario L8M 1A9

 

Your Account. In order to access and use some or a portion of the Services, you are required to register with us and set up an account with your email address and a password (your “Profile”). The email address you provide will be your email address, and you are solely responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your password. You are solely responsible for all activities that occur under your Account. Therefore, you should protect your password and make your password difficult for others to guess.

You may connect to the Services with a third-party service and you give us permission to access, store, and use your information from that service as permitted by that service and as may be described in our Privacy Policy. If you believe your Account may have been compromised or misused, contact us immediately.

Using the Services. You will post in the appropriate category or area and will not do any of the following:

Abusing People sharing Inc. Services. Please tell us about any problems or offensive content so that together we can keep the Services site working properly. We may limit or terminate our Services, remove hosted content and take technical and legal steps to keep users off People sharing Inc. if we think that they are creating problems or acting inconsistently with the letter or spirit of our policies. However, whether we decide to take any of these steps, remove hosted content or keep a user off People sharing Inc. or not, we do not accept any liability for monitoring People sharing Inc. or for unauthorized or unlawful content on People sharing Inc. or use of People sharing Inc. by users.

Fees and Services. Using the Services is free for now. Our fee will be quoted in Canadian Dollars, and we may change it from time to time. We will notify you of changes to our fee policy by posting such changes on the site. Our fee is non-refundable, and you are responsible for paying it when it's due. If you don't, we will restrict your ability to use the Services.

Canadian taxes associated with our Services will be collected when applicable. You agree to provide accurate address information necessary for People sharing Inc. to comply with its obligations under applicable law. To the extent that such information is not provided, People sharing Inc. will in its discretion determine and collect appropriate taxes.

You are solely responsible to collect and remit any applicable taxes resulting from the use of your items or services listed on People sharing Inc.

While many features of the Services are available across the People sharing Inc. websites and their associated mobile applications, some features and functionality may vary depending on which website and/or which mobile device you use to access the Services.

Content. The Services contains stuff from us, you, and other users (as well as from our third party service providers). You agree not to copy, modify, resell or distribute the Services, our copyrights or trademarks. When you give us content, you are granting us a non-exclusive, worldwide, perpetual, irrevocable, royalty-free, sub-licensable right to exercise the copyright, publicity, and database rights to that content. If you believe that your rights have been violated, please notify us and we will investigate the matter. We reserve the right to remove content where we have grounds for suspecting the violation of these terms or the rights of any other party.

Reporting Intellectual Property Infringements. Do not post content that infringes the rights of third parties. This includes, but is not limited to, content that infringes on intellectual property rights such as copyright and trademark. Do not post content that contains any reference to or likeness of any identifiable third parties, unless consent has been obtained from each such individual as may be required. We reserve the right to remove content where we have grounds for suspecting the violation of these terms, our policies or of any party's rights. If you have a good faith belief that a listing on any of the Services infringes your copyright, trademark, or other intellectual property rights, all you need to do is send an email to People sharing Inc. We will investigate the matter.

Disclaimers and Limitations of Liability. The Services are provided “as is” and “as available”. You agree not to hold us responsible for things other users post or do. You also agree not to hold us responsible for the payment processing of other service providers such as banks or PayPal (each a “Third Party Payment Processor”). As most of the stuff on the Services comes from other users, we do not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, efficacy or timeliness of any postings or user communications or the quality, safety, or legality of what is offered. We also cannot guarantee continuous or secure access to our Services. Notification functionality in our Services may not occur in real time. Such functionality is subject to delays beyond our control, including without limitation, delays or latency due to your physical location or your wireless data service provider's network. We are not liable for any loss, whether of life, possessions, money (including profit), goodwill, or reputation, or any special, indirect, or consequential damages to your possessions or your personal physical, emotional, and/or psychological health arising out of your use of People sharing Inc., even if you advise us or we could reasonably foresee the possibility of any such damage occurring. Some jurisdictions do not allow the disclaimer of warranties or exclusion of damages, so such disclaimers and exclusions may not apply to you.

Despite the previous paragraph, if we are found to be liable, our liability to you or any third party (whether in contract, tort, negligence, strict liability in tort, by statute or otherwise) is limited to the greater of (a) the total fees you pay to us in the 12 months prior to the action giving rise to liability, and (b) 100 Canadian Dollars.

Indemnification. You will indemnify and hold harmless People sharing Inc. and its affiliates and our and their respective officers, directors, agents and employees (each an “Indemnified Party”), from any claim made by any third party, together with any amounts payable to the third party whether in settlement or as may otherwise be awarded, and reasonable legal costs incurred by any of the Indemnified Parties, arising from or relating to your use of the Services, any alleged violation by you of the applicable terms, and any alleged violation by you of any applicable law or regulation. We reserve the right, at our own expense, to assume the exclusive defense and control of any matter subject to indemnification by you, but doing so will not excuse your indemnity obligations.

Personal Information. By using Services, you agree to the collection, transfer, storage and use of your personal information by People sharing Inc. (the "data controller") on servers located anywhere in the world.

General. These terms and the other policies posted on the Services constitute the entire agreement between us and you, superseding any prior agreements. This agreement is governed by the laws of the Province of Ontario and the federal laws of Canada applicable therein. We both submit to the jurisdiction of the courts of the Province of Ontario. This will not affect your statutory rights if you are a consumer and applicable consumer law requires application of another law for certain topics. If we don't enforce any particular provision, we are not waiving our right to do so later. If a court strikes down any of these terms, the remaining terms will survive. We may automatically assign this agreement in our sole discretion in accordance with the notice provision below (our assignment to an affiliate will not require notice). Except for notices relating to illegal or infringing content, your notices to us must be sent by registered mail to:

People sharing Inc.

862 Main St. East

Suite 150

Hamilton, Ontario L8M 1A9



Re: User Inquiries

We will send notices to you via the email address you provide, or by registered mail. Notices sent by registered mail will be deemed received five days following the date of mailing. We may update this agreement at any time, with updates taking effect when you next use the site or after 30 days, whichever is sooner. No other amendment to this agreement will be effective unless made in writing, signed by users and by us. Send questions, comments or complaints to People sharing Inc.

Mobile Devices Terms

If you're accessing the Services from a mobile device using a People sharing Inc. mobile application (the "Application"), the following terms and conditions ("Mobile Devices Terms") apply to you in addition to the applicable Mobile Privacy and Legal Notice or End User License Agreement, as the case may be. Your use of the Application confirms your agreement to these Mobile Devices Terms.

Application Use. People sharing Inc. grants you the right to use the Application pursuant to the following restrictions: you may not (a) modify, copy, publish, license, sell, or otherwise commercialize this Application or any information or software associated with this Application; (b) rent, lease or otherwise transfer rights to this Application; or (c) use this Application in any manner that could impair the Application or interfere with any party's use or enjoyment of the Application. You must comply with all applicable laws and third party terms of agreement when using the Application (e.g. your wireless data service agreement). The Application may not contain the same functionality available on the People sharing Inc. website (and certain functionality may not be available depending on which Application and/or mobile device you are using). Your download and use of the Application is at your own discretion and risk, and you are solely responsible for any damages to your hardware device(s) or loss of data that results from the download or use of the Application.

Intellectual Property – Applications. People sharing Inc. owns, or is the licensee to, all right, title, and interest in and to its Applications, including all rights under patent, copyright, trade secret, trademark, and any and all other proprietary rights, including all applications, renewals, extensions, and restorations thereof. You will not modify, adapt, translate, prepare derivative works from, decompile, reverse-engineer, disassemble, or otherwise attempt to derive source code from any Application and you will not remove, obscure, or alter People sharing Inc.'s copyright notice, trademarks or other proprietary rights notices affixed to, contained within, or accessed in conjunction with or by any Application.

Prohibited Countries Policy and Foreign Trade Regulation - Applications. The Application or its underlying technology may not be downloaded to or exported or re-exported: (a) into (or to a resident or national of) any country subject to United States embargo; (b) to anyone on the U.S. Department of the Treasury's list of Specially Designated Nationals or on the U.S. Department of Commerce's Denied Party or Entity List; and (c) to any prohibited country, person, end-user, or entity specified by U.S. export laws. When using the Application, you are responsible for complying with trade regulations and both foreign and domestic laws (e.g., you are not located in a country that is subject to a U.S. government embargo, or that has been designated by the U.S. government as a "terrorist supporting" country, and you are not listed on any U.S. government list of prohibited or restricted parties).

Additional Terms. Additional terms and conditions that apply to you based on the mobile device the Application is installed on:

iOS – Apple

Android - Google

User Policies

 

Posting Policies

The following activities are prohibited from People sharing Inc.:

Our general rule is that you may not list items or services that are illegal to own.

Ad Reply Code of Conduct

 

While People sharing Inc. does not actively monitor replies sent within our system between users, we reserve the right to delete or ban those who we deem to be using replies inappropriately.

When contacting other users: 

People sharing Inc. reserves the right to revoke the ability of any users to reply to ads without notice.
 

If you receive a reply that you feel is inappropriate, please report it to us.

People sharing Inc. Age Restrictions

 

People sharing Inc. cares about the safety of your entire family.

While we pride ourselves on being a site that most of the family can use, we also know the concerns involved with interacting online.

We want to minimize these risks. Therefore, please read carefully our age restrictions:

People sharing Inc. reserves the right to remove any listing if we feel it is in the best interest and for the safety of our users.

GST/HST/QST ON PEOPLE SHARING INC. AD FEATURES
Our services are provided by People sharing Inc. which is required to collect any applicable taxes on services provided in accordance with Canadian tax laws. We will collect GST/HST/QST based on your province of residence. This is not a price increase – we are simply collecting and passing on to the government applicable taxes on our services.  Any taxes collected on People sharing Inc. services will be listed as a separate charge on your invoice.

GST/HST/QST FOR SERVICES MARKETED ON www.pplsharing.com


GST/HST/QST may be payable/chargeable for the services you offer/seek on People sharing Inc. If you are not sure if this applies to you, please contact the Canada Revenue Agency and/or seek professional advice about your tax obligations.

If you are required to charge GST/HST/QST on your services:

  1. For listings on www.pplsharing.com your prices must include GST/HST/QST, when applicable. You may not add GST/HST/QST to the final value of a service once it has been completed.
  2. You are responsible for paying that GST/HST/QST in accordance with the appropriate laws and regulations.


INFORMATION FOR THE PURSUER OF SERVICES ON www.pplsharing.com


All listing prices on People sharing Inc. are GST/HST/QST-inclusive, where applicable. Service Providers may not add GST/HST/QST to the final sale price after a service after it's been completed.


If you've rented an item or paid for a service and you need a tax invoice showing the GST/HST/QST component, please contact the user with whom you transacted.

If another member is being rude or otherwise inappropriate, you can block them from sending you any further messages. Blocking will prevent them from replying to any of your messages or ads. Similarly, you will not be able to reply to their listings or messages.

To block a member:
 

Once blocked, you will be able to unblock them using the same button until the conversation is deleted or expires. If the messages are gone, then the block is permanent.

Suspicious Messages

Should you receive a suspicious reply that appears to be fraudulent, please report the sender's email address and any other related information to us.

If you accidentally report a reply, don't worry; action will not be taken unless the reply goes against our policies.

Cookies

People sharing Inc. Cookie Policy

 

Cookies, Web Beacons, and Similar Technologies

Summary

When you visit or interact with our sites, services, applications, tools or messaging, we or our authorized service providers may use cookies, web beacons, and other similar technologies for storing information to help provide you with a better, faster, and safer experience and for advertising purposes. 

This page is designed to help you understand more about these technologies and our use of them on our sites and in our services, applications, and tools. Below is a summary of a few key things you should know about our use of such technologies. You can review the contents of our full User Cookie Notice below.

Our cookies and similar technologies have different functions. They are either necessary for the functioning of our services, help us improve our performance, give you extra functionalities, or help us to serve you relevant and targeted ads. We use cookies and similar technologies that only remain on your device for as long as you keep your browser active (session) and cookies and similar technologies that remain on your device for a longer period (persistent).You are free to block, delete, or disable these technologies if your device permits so. You can manage your cookies and your cookie preferences in your browser or device settings. 

Where possible, security measures are set in place to prevent unauthorized access to our cookies and similar technologies. A unique identifier ensures that only we and/or our authorized service providers have access to cookie data. 

Service providers are companies that help us with various aspects of our business, such as site operations, services, applications, advertisements and tools. We use some authorized service providers to help us to serve you relevant ads on our services and other places on the internet. These service providers may also place cookies on your device via our services (third party cookies). They may also collect information that helps them identify your device, such as IP-address or other unique or device identifiers.

What are cookies, web beacons, and similar technologies? 

Like most sites, we use technologies that are essentially small data files placed on your computer, tablet, mobile phone, or other devices (referred to collectively as a “device”) that allow us to record certain pieces of information whenever you visit or interact with our sites, services, applications, messaging, and tools. 

The specific names and types of the cookies, web beacons, and other similar technologies we use may change from time to time. In order to help you better understand this Policy and our use of such technologies we have provided the following limited terminology and definitions: 

Cookies – Small text files (typically made up of letters and numbers) placed in the memory of your browser or device when you visit a website or view a message. Cookies allow a website to recognize a particular device or browser. There are several types of cookies:

Cookies can be disabled or removed by tools that are available in most commercial browsers. The preferences for each browser you use will need to be set separately and different browsers offer different functionality and options. 

Web beacons - Small graphic images (also known as “pixel tags” or “clear GIFs”) that may be included on our sites, services, applications, messaging, and tools, that typically work in conjunction with cookies to identify our users and user behavior. 

Similar technologies – Technologies that store information in your browser or device utilizing local shared objects or local storage, such as flash cookies, HTML 5 cookies, and other web application software methods. These technologies can operate across all of your browsers, and in some instances may not be fully managed by your browser and may require management directly through your installed applications or device. We do not use these technologies for storing information to target advertising to you on or off our sites.

We may use the terms “cookies” or “similar technologies” interchangeably in our policies to refer to all technologies that we may use to store data in your browser or device or that collect information or help us identify you in the manner described above. 

Your choice and our use of cookies, web beacons, and similar technologies: 

We offer certain site features, services, applications, and tools that are available only through the use of these technologies. You are always free to block, delete, or disable these technologies if your browser, installed application, or device so permits. However, if you decline cookies or other similar technologies, you may not be able to take advantage of certain site features, services, applications, or tools. You may also be required to re-enter your password more frequently during your browsing session. For more information on how you can block, delete, or disable these technologies, please review your browser or device settings. 

Generally, these technologies allow our sites, services, applications, and tools to store relevant information in your browser or device and later read that information in order to identify you to our servers or internal systems. Where applicable, we protect our cookies and other similar technologies to help ensure that only we and/or our authorized service providers can interpret them by assigning them a unique identifier that is designed for interpretation only by us. We do not store any of your personal information on any of our cookies or other similar technologies. 

Any personal information that we collect and store through use of these technologies is first obtained through notice and consent: We obtain your consent by providing you with transparent notice of use of the technologies and providing you with the opportunity to make a choice to disable these technologies as set forth above. 

Our uses of such technologies fall into the following general categories: 

  1. Operationally Necessary. We may use cookies, web beacons, or other similar technologies that are necessary to the operation of our sites, services, applications, and tools. This includes technologies that allow you access to our sites, services, applications, and tools; that are required to identify irregular site behavior, prevent fraudulent activity and improve security; or that allow you to make use of our functions such as shopping-carts, saved search, or similar functions;
  1. Performance Related.We may use cookies, web beacons, or other similar technologies to assess the performance of our websites, applications, services, and tools, including as part of our analytic practices to help us understand how our visitors use our websites, determine if you have interacted with our messaging, determine whether you have viewed an item or link, or to improve our website content, applications, services, or tools;
  1. Functionality Related. We may use cookies, web beacons, or other similar technologies that allow us to offer you enhanced functionality when accessing or using our sites, services, applications, or tools. This may include identifying you when you sign into our sites or keeping track of your specified preferences, interests, or past items viewed so that we may enhance the presentation of content on our sites; 

Use of these technologies by authorized third-party service providers: 

We may work with third-party companies, commonly known as service providers, who are authorized to place third-party cookies, web beacons, or similar technologies for storing information on our sites or in our services, applications, and tools with our permission. These service providers help us to provide you with a better, faster, and safer experience. 

These service providers may use these technologies to help us deliver our own content and advertising, and compile anonymous site metrics and analytics. We do not permit any of these service providers to collect any of your personal information on our sites or in our services, applications, or tools for their own purposes. These service providers are subject to confidentiality agreements with us and other legal restrictions on their use or collection of any personal information. Third party cookies are covered by the third-parties' privacy policy. 

With the exception of the use of such technologies by our service providers or other authorized third-parties, we do not permit any third-party content on sites (such as item listings, member-to-member communications, classified listings, comments, reviews, etc.) to include or utilize any cookies, web beacons, local storage, or similar technologies for tracking purposes or to collect your personal information. If you believe a listing or other third-party content might be collecting personal information or using tracking technologies on one of our sites, please report it here.

Ad networks and exchanges operated by authorized third parties: 

We may use third parties, such as advertising networks and exchanges, to allow us to serve you advertisements. These third-party ad networks and exchange providers may use third-party cookies, web beacons, or similar technologies to collect information. They may also collect your device identifier, IP address, or identifier for advertising (IDFA). The information that these third parties collect may be used to assist us in providing you with more relevant advertising that we serve on our sites or elsewhere on the web. Third party cookies are covered by the third-parties' privacy policy.

Avoiding Service Scams

We encourage users to be aware of potential problems or scams that can arise when hiring someone. 
 

If it looks too good to be true it's probably too good to be legal.
 

Do your homework.