Privacy Statement
Revised 9/16/2024
Introduction
This Privacy Statement applies to the web site located at https://www.nicorgas.com/, in addition to certain other web sites that provide a link to these terms (collectively, the "Web Sites"). Where noted, some portions of this Privacy Statement apply only to a subset of the Web Sites.
We seek to safeguard your privacy. This Privacy Statement details our general online information practices, how we will seek to protect your information, and the limited manner in which we may use that information.
By visiting the Web Sites or using services available on the Web Sites (collectively referred to as the “Services”), you consent to the collection and use of your information by us as set forth in this Privacy Statement. This Privacy Statement does not apply to any other information collected by Nicor Gas through any other means. Please note that other more specific privacy terms, conditions and policies may apply (and be provided to you) when you sign up for certain web site services. Please review those terms carefully, as such terms may differ from the terms of this general Privacy Statement.
Throughout this Privacy Statement, the words "you," "your," and "yours" refer to any person or entity using the Web Sites, and the words, "Nicor," "we," "us," and "our(s)" refer to Nicor Gas.
Changes to Our Privacy Statement; Contact Us
Please review this Privacy Statement regularly for any changes or updates. We may change this Privacy Statement at any time and with notice to you on the Web Site. All changes to the Privacy Statement are effective immediately when we post them. Your continued use of the Web Sites following posting of changes to this Privacy Statement signifies that you accept such changes. Additionally, if you have any questions or concerns regarding this Privacy Statement or the practices set forth in it, please contact us.
Children's Privacy: Nicorgas.com
THE WEB SITES DO NOT KNOWINGLY COLLECT PERSONAL INFORMATION FROM VISITORS UNDER AGE 13 AND ARE IN NO WAY DIRECTED AT CHILDREN UNDER THE AGE OF 13. IN THE EVENT THAT WE LEARN THAT WE HAVE COLLECTED PERSONAL INFORMATION FROM A CHILD UNDER AGE 13 WITHOUT PARENTAL CONSENT (OTHER THAN COLLECTION FOR THE SUPPORT OF INTERNAL OPERATIONS AS SET FORTH BELOW), WE WILL DELETE THAT INFORMATION AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE.
Information We Collect When You Visit the Web Sites and How We Use and Disclose It
Collection
Except as set forth in this Privacy Statement, we do not collect personal information on the Web Sites unless you voluntarily provide it to us when you visit the Web Sites. The information we collect generally falls into the following categories:
- Information that you voluntarily submit to us, for example, your contact information, payment information, user-generated content, and job applications.
- Information collected through your use of the Services, for example, user activity, data collected by the servers used to operate the Services (e.g., IP addresses and device information), data collected by analytics and advertising services, data collected when you connect using or share information via social media platforms, and data collected by cookies and tracking technologies.
We may collect any and all information that you choose to submit to us through, using, or in connection with the Services, including, without limitation, the types of information described below:
Category |
Examples and Subcategories |
Purposes (defined below) |
Identifiers |
Your first and last name, email address, postal address, telephone number, and date of birth. |
Services and Purposes Collected Lawful Processes; Protection of Nicor Business Transactions Communications with You Evaluation and Improvement of the Web Sites and our Products and Services Personalization Advertising Analytics Data Aggregation |
Protected Classifications Under Applicable Law |
Age (40 years or older), based on date of birth. |
|
Internet or Other Electronic Activity |
IP addresses, MAC Address, log files, login information, cookies, pixels, beacons, other unique online identifiers, and device and user activity information (e.g., search parameters, online activity such as date and time of accessing our websites, website addresses accessed, the length of website visit, and other usage data). |
|
Approximate Geolocation |
Approximate geolocation through IP Address |
|
Audio, Electronic, Visual, Thermal, Olfactory, or Similar Information |
Photos and videos you upload to the Site (if and where such functionality is made available to you) or otherwise share with us. |
|
Contact Forms and Requests for Information or Support |
The Identifiers you submit, details about the products or services you are interested in, the entity you represent, and the subject matter you are interested in. |
|
Inferences |
Preferences, behaviors, characteristics (including, for example, age, gender), and similar information inferred from the above categories of information. |
Purposes for Which We Process Your Information
In addition to the uses and sharing described above, we and our suppliers may use and disclose collected information as described below. We do not use, sell, rent, or otherwise disclose collected information except as stated in this Privacy Statement and as required or permitted by applicable law.
Services and Purpose Collected; Communication with You . We will use and share your collected information for the purpose for which it was collected, for example, to process and communicate with you in connection with your use of the Services (including your account activity), your requests for information, user-generated content you provide, and opportunities at Nicor, to administer your account (where applicable) and Nicor business activities, to provide customer support to users of the Services, and to provide you with information and communications that you request. Your location information will be used, for example, to understand where our users are located and to determine what services are available in those areas. User-generated content will be used for the purpose for which it was provided.Evaluation and Improvement of the Web Sites and our Products and Services . We may use and disclose your information to analyze, develop, and improve the Web Sites, content, materials, products, and services that we provide; to inform marketing and communication plans and strategies; to understand use demographics and preferences; to analyze the effectiveness of the Web Sites; and to evaluate user needs and customize Web Site content and the user experience.Personalization; Advertising; Analytics . To tailor the content and information that we may send or display to you, to suggest personalized help and instructions, and to otherwise personalize your experience while visiting or using our Services. Additionally, we may collect your information and share it with our third party service providers to understand how our Services are used and to improve the Services (as described further in the “Analytics” section of the Privacy Statement below). Further, we may use your information for us, or our third party service providers, to use that information to target advertisements for goods and services and to display those advertisements on other websites. The information collected may be associated with your personal information. For more information, please see the “Advertising Networks, Personalized Advertising, Remarketing, and Retargeting” section of the Privacy Statement below.Data Aggregation . To the extent permitted by applicable law, we may aggregate personal information, user-generated content, and other collected information and use that aggregate data for our business purposes. We may use aggregate data to understand Web Site users’ needs and usage patterns, to determine what kinds of products and services we can provide, and to improve and enrich our products and services. We may provide aggregate information to our affiliates, suppliers, and other third parties for these purposes. We may also combine such information with other information in our possession for purposes of using information as described in this Privacy Statement. When you visit them, our Web Sites automatically collect certain information about interactions between your web browser and the Web Sites and other web sites unrelated to the Web Sites that you visit, including your IP address, the web pages you visit and how long you visit them. Web browsers may provide certain information that we may also collect, including your time zone, browser type and version and language preference. We or our third party service providers may organize or analyze IP addresses for general support of internal operations, including maintaining functionality of the Web Sites and diagnosing Web Sites' issues, analyzing trends, providing more efficient service, maintaining and/or enhancing security for users and the Web Sites, producing traffic volume statistics and making the Web Sites and our infrastructure more useful and secure.Lawful Processes; Protection of Nicor . We may use and share your information in accordance with and in response to regulatory authorities, courts with competent jurisdiction, valid law enforcement requests, governmental agency requests, emergency services, and other necessary third parties for legal, protection, security, and safety purposes (e.g., to comply with laws or regulations, to respond to subpoenas and legal processes, to perform credit checks, to protect the safety of our employees, agents, and customers, or any other person). We may use your information and share it with third parties if we believe doing so is necessary or appropriate to protect our rights or the rights of others, including to enforce our agreements, policies, and terms, to bring legal action, to protect our operations and assets, or to pursue remedies or limit damages that we may sustain.Business Transactions . If Nicor undergoes a change in control, acquisition, merger, reorganization, asset sale (in whole or in part), or similar transaction, we may transfer, sell, share, or otherwise disclose your information to the subsequent owner(s) or successor(s) of those transactions. We may also disclose your information in connection with the evaluation of those transactions. Those owner(s), successor(s), and other recipients will be bound by this Privacy Statement as it applies to the information disclosed. Also, if Nicor or any of its assets are acquired or if Nicor goes out of business, enters bankruptcy, or goes through some other change in control or reorganization, your information may be one of the assets transferred to or acquired by a third party.With Your Consent . With your consent, we may use and share your personal information in ways not specifically described in this Privacy Statement.
Disclosures to Third Parties
Pursuant to and consistent with the purposes for collecting your information as set forth in this Privacy Statement, we may disclose certain categories of person information to third parties for a business (or other) purpose.
Category of Information |
Categories of Third Parties Disclosed To |
Purposes for Disclosure |
Identifiers |
Affiliates, Subsidiaries, and Related Entities Subsequent owner(s), successor(s), or assignee(s) of Nicor Third Party Service Providers, which include, for example, payment processing companies, data analytics and advertising providers, fraud preventing providers, cloud storage providers, IT service providers, delivery partners, and marketing companies Law Enforcement |
Services and Purposes Collected Communications with You Evaluation and Improvement of the Web Sites and our Products and Services Personalization Advertising Analytics Data Aggregation Lawful Processes; Protection of Nicor Business Transactions |
Protected Classifications Under Applicable Law |
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Internet or Other Electronic Activity |
||
Approximate Geolocation |
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Audio, Electronic, Visual, Thermal, Olfactory, or Similar Information |
||
Contact Forms and Requests for Information or Support |
The Web Site located at https://www.nicorgas.com/ may also share certain information such as cookie data (as discussed more specifically below) with third-party advertising partners. This information would enable you to view advertisements that they believe will be of interest to you.
Cookies
Some parts of the Web Sites use "cookies" to track your use of the Services in order to facilitate and enhance the user experience on the Services and for other purposes described below.
Our Web Sites may ask your web browser to store a small text file on your computer, which will then be sent back to our Web Sites automatically each time you click on a new page on the Web Sites. This enables us to provide you with the best browsing experience possible, to learn and track how you access and use the Services, including when and how users visit the Services and how popular particular Service pages are and are not.
A cookie cannot be executed as code or deliver viruses. A cookie can either be a “session” cookie or a “persistent” cookie. Session cookies exist only for so long as you are visiting the applicable website. Session cookies are typically deleted or removed when you exit or quit your browser application. Persistent cookies exist for a set period of time, for example, six (6) months or one (1) year. Each time you visit a website that has implemented a persistent cookie, that cookie will remain active until its predetermined expiration date. You can also manually delete persistent cookies as discussed herein.
You can refuse the cookie or delete the cookie file from your computer by adjusting your web browser privacy settings or by other widely available methods. Please note that you may not be able to use certain features of the Web Sites and Services if your web browser does not accept cookies.
The types of information collected by a cookie and the purposes for which that information is used depends on the type of cookie. By way of illustration, the types of cookies used, the types of information collected by those cookies, and the purposes for which that information are used are described below. We may combine information collected by cookies with other information we have collected form you as described in this Privacy Statement.
- Operationally necessary cookies (also called essential cookies). These are cookies that are required for the operation of the Services. For example, these cookies are required to identify irregular website behavior, prevent fraudulent activity, and improve security. They also allow users of the Services to make use of its functions. Without these cookies, features and services you have requested will not be able to be provided.
- Functional cookies. These cookies allow us to offer you enhanced functionality when accessing or using the Services. This may include to remembering choices you make, for example, remembering your preferences or settings, remembering if you reacted to something on or through the Services so that you are not asked to react to it again, remembering if you have used any feature of the Services before, and enabling social media components. If functional cookies are disabled, various functions of the Services may be unavailable to you or may not work the way you want them to.
- Performance cookies (also called analytical cookies). These cookies assess the performance of the Services, including as part of our analytic practices to help us understand how visitors use and interact with the Services, for example, which pages on our websites users visit most often. These cookies also enable us to personalize content and remember your preferences. These cookies help us improve the way our websites work and provide a better, personalized user experience.
- Advertising or targeted cookies. These cookies record your visits to the Services, the pages you visit on our websites, and the links you have clicked. They gather information about your browsing habits and remember that you have visited a particular website. Nicor and its third-party advertising platforms or networks may use this information to make the Services and its content more relevant to your interests (this is sometimes called “behavioral” or “targeted” advertising and is further discussed above). These cookies are also used to limit the number of times you see an advertisement and to help measure the effectiveness of advertising campaigns. To find out more about interest-based ads and your choices, please visit the Digital Advertising Alliance, the Network Advertising Initiative, the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) Europe, https://www.allaboutcookies.org, and https://www.youronlinechoices.com.
Analytics
The Services use third-party analytics tools (e.g., Google Analytics) to collect and process data about your use of the Services, including when you visit the Services, URLs of the websites that you visit prior to visiting the Services and when you visit those websites, and IP addresses assigned to the devices from where you access the Internet. Our analytics providers may set and read cookies to collect this data and your web browser will automatically send data collected by those cookies to our analytics providers. Our analytics providers use this data to provide us with reports that we will use to improve the Services’ structure and content.
For more information on how Google uses this data, visit Google’s Privacy Notice and Google’s page on How Google uses data when you use our partners' sites or apps. To prevent this data from being used by Google Analytics, follow the instructions to download and install the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on for each browser you use. Using the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on will not prevent Nicor from using other analytics tools and will not prevent data from being sent to the Service itself or to Google. For more information about how Google Analytics uses cookies to measure user interactions on websites, visit Google Analytics Cookie Usage on Websites. You may disable cookies as discussed below, but that may impact your use and enjoyment of the Service.
Advertising Networks, Personalized Advertising, Remarketing, and Retargeting
From time to time the Services may use or participate in advertising networks and related advertising services that are managed and provided by third-party advertising servers, advertising agencies, technology vendors, and research firms, including advertising services provided by Meta (sometimes referred to the Meta “tracking pixel”). These services collect information about your visits to and interactions with the Services and other websites and will use that information to target advertisements for goods and services and to display those advertisements on other websites. The information collected may be associated with your personal information.
For certain Meta advertising services, Meta Ireland is a Joint Controller (as defined in the GDPR) and that information required under the GDPR related to such processing can be found at https://www.facebook.com/about/privacy. We work with Meta and use their advertising services to measure and improve our ads and marketing efforts, as well as to display more relevant advertising to you. For further information on how Meta Ireland processes your personal information, including the legal basis, and the ways to exercise your rights, please visit https://www.facebook.com/about/privacy.
To change your preferences with respect to certain online ads and to obtain more information about third-party ad networks and online behavioral advertising, please visit the National Advertising Initiative Consumer opt-out page or the Digital Advertising Alliance Self-Regulatory Program. Please remember that changing your settings with individual web browsers or ad networks will not necessarily carry over to other browsers or ad networks. As a result, depending on the opt-outs you request, you may still see our ads from time to time. Your device may also include a feature (“Limit Ad Tracking” on iOS or “Opt Out of Interest-Based Ads” on Android) that allows you to opt out of having certain information collected through apps used for behavioral advertising purposes.
Marketing and Surveys
When you visit the Web Sites, we may ask if you would like us to send you marketing or customer service materials about our services and other associated products and services. As part of our efforts to provide you with better products and services and to increase customer satisfaction, we may share information with third-party providers that assist us in providing those products and/or services to you. From time to time, we may include survey forms on the Web Sites. For example, we may survey customers concerning issues that are important to us, such as customer opinions or services offered. We may disclose aggregated survey results to other third parties, such as the public service commission, rating agencies, or advertising agencies. Additionally, we do provide our survey vendors with limited personal information needed to conduct the survey, such as names, email addresses or telephone numbers.
Linked Websites
The Web Sites may provide links to other websites that we do not own or operate ("Linked Web Sites"). You may have the ability to visit such Linked Web Sites. Please be aware that when you leave the Web Sites and visit Linked Web Sites, we are not responsible for the privacy practices or the content of those Linked Web Sites. The privacy statements, policies and other terms contained on the Linked Web Sites apply.
Social Media Services
We have worked with certain third-party social media services to offer you their services through the Web Site. For example, you can use third-party social media services, including but not limited to Facebook, X, and others to share information about your experience on the Web Site with your friends and followers on those services. These social media services may be able to collect information about you, including your activity on the Web Site. These other services also may notify your friends, both on the Web Site and on the services themselves, that you are a user of the Web Site or about your use of the Web Site, in accordance with applicable law and their own privacy policies.
If you do not want social media platforms to collect information relating to you via the Services or to link information collected via the Services to your social media accounts, we suggest that you: (a) do not connect to or share information with social media platforms using the Services; (b) hide social media platform plug-ins using an ad blocker; (c) always log off completely from social media platforms before visiting the Services or other websites and delete all related cookies; and, (d) where the option is made available by a social media platform, disable the advertising services and networks operated by that platform. You hereby acknowledge that we make no guarantee that exercising the foregoing options is guaranteed to prevent applicable social media platforms from tracking you and, further, you acknowledge that we are not responsible for a social media platform’s tracking of you.
How We Protect Your Information
We use industry-standard administrative, technical and physical safeguards and protection practices and controls to ensure the integrity of our systems and to protect your information from loss, misuse, alteration and destruction. Such protection measures include firewalls and Secure Socket Layers (SSL) to protect and encrypt sensitive transmissions. Please be advised, however, that no security system is fail-safe and we cannot guarantee the information you provide will never be obtained by unauthorized persons.