The Meet Group Inc.

Privacy Policy

Last Updated: July 1, 2024

The Meet Group, Inc., its brands, affiliates, and subsidiaries ("TMG"," "we," "our," or "us") values your privacy. This Privacy Policy ("Policy") describes how TMG collects, uses, discloses, and otherwise processes personal information described in this Policy, as well as the rights and choices you have regarding such personal information.

For additional information about the privacy choices you have regarding your personal information, please review Section 6. Your Privacy Choices, as well as Section 13. Additional Privacy Information for Certain Jurisdictions, which includes additional information about privacy rights for residents of certain jurisdictions. If you are a resident of California, please refer to Section 13.B. Additional Information for California Residents for information about the categories of personal information we collect and your rights under California privacy laws.

When you create a profile on one of our Services, your personal information may be visible also to users of our other Services, and other applications we own and other applications and websites not owned by us with which we share our live platform. For a list of our current live partners, click here.

By using our Services (as defined below), you agree that your personal information will be handled as described in this Policy. Your use of our Services and any dispute over privacy, is subject to this Policy and our Terms and Conditions, including their applicable terms governing limitations on damages and the resolution of disputes.

Table of Contents

  1. Scope

  2. Personal Information Collected

  3. Purposes for Collection and Processing

  4. Disclosures of Personal Information

  5. Cookies, Targeting, and Analytics

  6. Your Privacy Choices

  7. External Links and Features

  8. User Generated Content

  9. Security

  10. Children's Privacy

  11. Changes to this Policy

  12. Contact Us

  13. Additional Privacy Information for Certain Jurisdictions

1. Scope

Except as otherwise described below, this Policy applies to the personal information TMG collects and processes related to: visitors of our website where this Policy is posted, including any of our websites that link to or post this Policy (the "Sites"); individuals who download and use our mobile application ("Mobile App"); individuals who register for or participate in our events, surveys, research, promotions, and sweepstakes conducted by us; current, former, and prospective customers, vendors and service providers, and business partners; and individuals who communicate or otherwise interact or engage with us or the services available through our Sites, Mobile App, or other online services (collectively referred to as the "Services").

2. Personal Information Collected

As further described below, we may collect personal information directly from you, from third-party sources, and automatically through your use of our Services.

Personal Information Collected Directly from You. While the personal information we collect varies depending upon your use of our Services and our interactions with you, in general, we may collect the following categories of personal information directly from you:

Personal Information Collected from Third Parties. We may also collect and receive certain personal information about you from third party sources, such as from business partners, customers and other TMG users, data analytics and marketing providers, operating systems and social media platforms, public databases, and vendors and service providers who provide services or perform functions on our behalf. For example, we may collect your name, contact details, and other similar information from business partners and vendors and service providers for purposes of providing our Services. In addition, we may collect the following information from third-party sources:

Personal Information Collected Automatically. We and our third-party service providers may automatically collect or derive personal information about you related to your use of our Services, including through the use of cookies, pixel tags, and other similar technologies. The personal information we may automatically collect includes:

For more information about our use of cookies and other similar technologies, please see Section 5. Cookies, Targeting, and Analytics below.

3. Purposes for Collection and Processing

Generally, we may collect, use, disclose and otherwise process the categories of personal information we collect for the following purposes:

4. Disclosures of Personal Information

We may disclose the personal information we collect for the purposes described above, to provide you our Services, to respond to and fulfill your requests, as otherwise directed or consented to by you, and with the following recipients:

We may also disclose your personal information in the following circumstances:

Notwithstanding anything else described in this Policy, we may use and disclose aggregated, deidentified, and other non-identifiable data related to our business and the Services for quality control, analytics, research, development, and other purposes. Where we use, disclose or process deidentified data (data that is no longer reasonably linked or linkable to an identified or identifiable natural person, household, or personal or household device) we will maintain and use the information in deidentified form and not to attempt to reidentify the information, except in order to determine whether our deidentification processes are reasonable and adequate pursuant to applicable privacy laws.

5. Cookies, Targeting, and Analytics

We and our third-party service providers use cookies, pixels, local storage objects, log files, and other mechanisms to automatically collect browsing, activity, device, and other similar information within our Services. We use this information to, for example, analyze and understand how users access, use, and interact with our Services, to identify and resolve bugs and errors in our Services, to assess secure, protect, optimize and improve the performance of our Services, as well as for marketing and analytics purposes, and to personalize content in our Services. To manage your preferences regarding cookies, targeted advertising, and other similar tracking mechanisms within our Services, please see Section 6. Your Privacy Choices below.

Cookies. "Cookies" are small text files stored on a user's device (such as a computer or smartphone) by a website they visit. Cookies are created by the website's server and sent to the user's browser, where it is stored for future reference. Some cookies allow us to make it easier for you to navigate our Services, while others are used to enable a faster log-in process, support the security and performance of the Services, or allow us to track aggregate and statistical information about user activity within the Services.

Pixel Tags. Pixel tags (sometime called web beacons or clear GIFs) are tiny graphics with a unique identifier, similar in function to cookies. While cookies are stored locally on your device, pixel tags are embedded invisibly within web pages and online content. We may use these, in connection with our Services to, among other things, track the activities of users, and help us manage content and compile usage statistics. We may also use these in our emails to let us know when they have been opened or forwarded, so we can track response rates and gauge the effectiveness of our communications.

Log Files. We may collect certain activity information from log files. Log file information is automatically collected when you access our Sites. We record certain information from these log files, including web requests, IP address, browser type and version, language information, referring and exiting URLs, links clicked, pages viewed and other similar information.

Third Party Analytics. We may use automated devices, applications, and tools, such as Google Analytics, which are operated by third party companies, to evaluate usage of our Services. These third-party companies may use cookies, pixels, and other tracking technologies to collect usage data about our Services and provide us with reports and metrics that help us evaluate usage of our Services and enhance performance and user experiences. To learn more about Google's privacy practices, please review the Google Privacy Policy at https://www.google.com/policies/privacy/partners/. You can also download the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on to prevent your data from being used by Google Analytics at https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout.

Third-Party Advertising. We work with third-party ad networks, analytics, marketing partners, mobile ad networks, and others ("third-party ad companies") to personalize content and display advertising within our Services, as well as to manage our advertising on third-party websites. We and these third-party ad companies may use cookies, pixels tags, SDKs, and other tools to collect browsing and activity information within our Services (as well as on third-party sites and services), as well as IP address, unique ID, cookie and advertising IDs, and other online identifiers. We and these third-party ad companies use this information to provide you more relevant ads and content within our Services and on third-party sites, and to evaluate the success of such ads and content.

Cross-Device Use. We and our third-party service providers may use the information we collect about you (whether directly from our Sites or Mobile App, through your device(s), or from third party sources) to help us and our third-party service providers identify other devices you use (e.g., a mobile phone, tablet, other computer, etc.). We and our third-party service providers may also use the cross-device use and other information we learn about you to serve targeted advertising or personalize content within our Services. To opt-out of cross-device advertising, you may follow the instructions set forth below. Please note, if you opt-out of these targeted advertising cookies, the opt-out will be specific to the web browser, app, or device from which you accessed the opt-out. If you use multiple devices or web browsers, you will need to opt-out each browser or device that you use.

Custom Lists and Matching. We may share or make available certain customer list information (such as your name, email address and other contact information) with third parties so that we can better target ads and content to you across third party websites, platforms and services. In some cases, these third parties may help us to enhance our customer lists with additional demographic or other similar information so we can better target our advertising and marketing campaigns.

6. Your Privacy Choices

Managing Your Preferences. We make available several ways for you to manage your preferences and privacy choices, as described below:

Cookie Preferences/Targeted Advertising. We also make available several ways for you to manage your preferences regarding cookies, targeted advertising, and other similar tracking mechanisms within our Services. Many of these choices are browser and device specific, which means that you may need to set the preference for each browser and device you use to access our Services. In addition, if you delete or block cookies, you may need to reapply these preferences to each browser and/or device. Further, opting out of cookies and advertising does not mean that you will no longer receive advertising content from us, and you may continue to receive generic or "contextual" ads from us.

Residents of certain jurisdictions may have additional rights to their personal information, as set forth below in Section 13. Additional Privacy Information for Certain Jurisdictions.

7. External Links and Features

Our Services may contain links to third-party websites or features or provide certain third-party connections or integrated services. Any access to and use of such linked websites or features is not governed by this Policy, but instead is governed by the privacy policies of those third parties. We are not responsible for the information practices of such third parties, including their collection, use, and disclosure of your personal information. You should review the privacy policies and terms for any third parties before proceeding to those websites or using those features.

8. User Generated Content

We may offer public-facing interactive features, community forums, or discussion blogs in connection with our Services that enable you to share information about the Services, or other issues of interest (e.g., reviews, testimonials, and questions). You should be aware that any communications you submit or post to any such interactive features on the Services may be viewable and searchable by others, including TMG users and the public. By submitting or posting to such public-facing, interactive features you acknowledge that you have no expectation of privacy or confidentiality in the content you submit for such features, whether or not it contains personal information about you.

9. Security

We have implemented reasonable precautions aimed to protect the information we collect from loss, misuse, and unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, and destruction. Please be aware that despite our best efforts, no data security measures can guarantee security.

10. Children's Privacy

Our Services are not designed for children, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children under the age of eighteen (18). If we learn that personal information has been collected on the Services from persons under the age of 18, then we will take the appropriate steps to delete this information. If you are a parent or legal guardian and you believe we have collected your child's information in violation of applicable law, please contact us using the contact information below.

11. Changes to this Policy

This Policy is current as of the date set forth above. We may change, update, or modify this Policy from time to time, so please be sure to check back periodically. We will post any updates to this Policy here. If we make any changes to this Policy that materially affect our practices regarding our use of the personal information we have previously collected from you, we will notify endeavor to provide you with notice, such as by emailing you or by posting prominent notice on our Sites, in our Mobile App, or within the Services.

12. Contact Us

If you have any questions or concerns regarding this Policy or our privacy practices, you may email us at support@themeetgroup.com or contact us at:

The Meet Group, Inc.
100 Union Square Drive
New Hope, PA 18938

13. Additional Privacy Information for Certain Jurisdictions

Residents of certain jurisdictions have additional rights under applicable privacy laws, as described in this section.

A. U.S. State Privacy Laws

If you are a resident of California, please review Section 13.B, Additional Information for California Residents below for a description of your rights pursuant to California privacy laws.

Residents of certain U.S. states, including Colorado, Connecticut, Oregon, Texas, Utah, and Virginia, may have additional rights under applicable privacy laws, subject to certain limitations, which may include:

You may submit a request to exercise most of your privacy rights under U.S. state privacy laws by contacting us at support@themeetgroup.com. To opt out of sales and targeted advertising by us, you can adjust your cookies settings or download an opt-out preference signal, such as the "global privacy control" (or GPC). Please see Section 6. Your Privacy Choices above for additional information about the privacy choices we provide and how to exercise them.

We will respond to your request as required under applicable U.S. privacy law(s). When you submit a request, we will take steps to verify your identity and request by matching the information provided by you with the information we have in our records. In some cases, we may request additional information in order to verify your identity, or where necessary to process your request. If we are unable to verify your identity after a good faith attempt, we may deny the request and, if so, will explain the basis for the denial. If we deny your request, you may appeal our decision by emailing us.

To the extent required under applicable U.S. privacy laws, you may also designate someone as an authorized agent to submit requests and act on your behalf. Authorized agents will be required to provide proof of their authorization in their first communication with us, and we may also require that the relevant consumer directly verify their identity and the authority of the authorized agent.

B. Additional Information for California Residents

This section of the Policy provides additional information for California residents and describes our information practices pursuant to applicable California privacy laws, including the California Consumer Privacy Act (the "CCPA"). To the extent you are a California resident, and we collect "personal information" subject to the CCPA, the following applies. This section does not address or apply to our handling of our handling of publicly available information or personal information that is otherwise exempt under the CCPA.

Categories of Personal Information Collected and Disclosed. The following table identifies the categories of personal information we may collect about you (and may have collected in the prior 12 months), as defined by the CCPA, as well as the categories of third parties to whom we may disclose this information for a business or commercial purpose. Depending on how you use the Services, we may collect and disclose the following categories of personal information:

Third Party Disclosures for Business or Commercial Purposes:

Third Party Disclosures for Business or Commercial Purposes:

Third Party Disclosures for Business or Commercial Purposes:

Third Party Disclosures for Business or Commercial Purposes:

Third Party Disclosures for Business or Commercial Purposes:

Third Party Disclosures for Business or Commercial Purposes:

Third Party Disclosures for Business or Commercial Purposes:

Third Party Disclosures for Business or Commercial Purposes:

Third Party Disclosures for Business or Commercial Purposes:

Third Party Disclosures for Business or Commercial Purposes:

Sources of Personal Information. We generally collect personal information from the following categories of sources: directly or indirectly from you; brands, affiliates and subsidiaries; business partners; vendors and service providers; other TMG users; third-party websites and services; social media platforms and social networking websites; Internet service providers; operating systems and platforms; and marketing and data analytics providers.

Purposes of Collection, Use, and Disclosure. As described above in Section 3. Purposes for Collection and Processing, in general, we may collect and otherwise process the categories of personal information we collect for the following business or commercial purposes and as otherwise directed or consented to by you:

Sensitive Personal Information. We do not collect, use, or disclose "sensitive personal information" beyond the purposes authorized by the CCPA. Accordingly, we only use and disclose sensitive personal information as reasonably necessary and proportionate: (i) to perform our services requested by you; (ii) to help ensure security and integrity, including to prevent, detect, and investigate security incidents; (iii) to detect, prevent and respond to malicious, fraudulent, deceptive, or illegal conduct; (iv) to verify or maintain the quality and safety of our services; (v) for compliance with our legal obligations; (vi) to our service providers who perform services on our behalf; and (vii) for purposes other than inferring characteristics about you.

Retention. We retain the personal information we collect only as reasonably necessary for the purposes described above or otherwise disclosed to you at the time of collection. For example, we will retain your account information for as long as you have an active account with us and additional information as necessary to comply with our tax, accounting and recordkeeping obligations, to provide you with the services you have requested, as well as an additional period of time as necessary to protect, defend or establish our rights, defend against potential claims, and comply with our legal obligations. In some cases, rather than delete your personal information, we may deidentify or aggregate it and use it in compliance with the CCPA.

Sales and Sharing of Personal Information. The CCPA defines "sale" as disclosing or making available personal information to a third-party in exchange for monetary or other valuable consideration, and "sharing" includes disclosing or making available personal information to a third-party for purposes of cross-context behavioral advertising. While we do not disclose personal information to third parties in exchange for monetary compensation, we may "sell" or "share" the following categories of personal information: identifiers; commercial information; location data; and Internet and network activity information. We may disclose these categories to third-party advertising networks, analytics providers, and social networks for purposes of marketing and advertising and to improve and measure our ad campaigns. We do not sell or share sensitive personal information, nor do we sell or share personal information about individuals we know are under age sixteen (16).

California Privacy Rights. The CCPA provides California residents with specific rights regarding personal information. Subject to certain conditions and exceptions, California residents have the following rights with respect to their personal information:

Submitting CCPA Requests. California residents may exercise their CCPA privacy rights as set forth below:

When you submit a request, we will take steps to verify your identity and request by matching the information provided by you with the information we have in our records. In some cases, we may request additional information in order to verify your identity, or where necessary to process your request. If we are unable to verify your identity after a good faith attempt, we may deny the request and, if so, will explain the basis for the denial.

You may also designate someone as an authorized agent to submit requests and act on your behalf. Authorized agents will be required to provide proof of their authorization in their first communication with us, and we may also require that the relevant consumer directly verify their identity and the authority of the authorized agent.

In addition, if we detect that your browser or device is transmitting an opt-out preference signal, such as the "global privacy control" (or GPC) signal, we will opt that browser or device out of cookies that result in a "sale" or "sharing" of your personal information. If you come to our Sites or use our Services from a different device or from a different browser on the same device, you will need to opt-out, or use an opt-out preference signal, for that browser and/or device as well. More information about GPC is available at: https://globalprivacycontrol.org/.

Notice of Financial Incentive. With respect to some of our Services, TMG may make available certain programs or offerings, and other sweepstakes, contests, or similar promotional offerings (each a "Program") which may include certain offers, rewards, discounts, services, perks, and promotions ("Rewards and Offers"). These Programs may be considered "financial incentives" under the CCPA. We provide these Rewards and Offers to participating users in order to understand and improve customer satisfaction and experiences, and to foster positive customer relationships.

As a basis for offering these Rewards and Offers, we have valued the personal information we obtain based on a reasonable and good faith calculation determined by considering expenses related to the Programs. In doing so, we value the personal information collected through the programs as the equivalent of the costs and expenses incurred to provide the program, including IT, administration, direct costs, third party costs, discounts, and service development costs.

Your personal information is collected and retained, and may be disclosed to our business partners, vendors and service providers, and other third parties, as described in this Policy, including in order (i) to administer the Program, (ii) for research and analytics purposes, (iii) to improve our products and services, (iv) to better reach you with more relevant, targeted offers, and (v) to send you TMG news, updates and offers by email, postal mail, and text message (in accordance with your communications preferences).

You may withdraw from participating in a Program at any time by contacting us using the methods described in this Policy. Please note that if you withdraw from a Program (or submit a CCPA request to delete your Program information), your participation in that Program will be terminated, which means that you will no longer be eligible to earn, use, access or redeem any Program Rewards and Offers, subject to the applicable Program terms.

California's Shine the Light Law. Under California's "Shine the Light" law (Cal. Civ. Code § 1798.83), California residents who provide us certain personal information are entitled to request and obtain from us, free of charge, information about the personal information (if any) we have shared with third parties for their own direct marketing use. Such requests may be made once per calendar year for information about any relevant third-party sharing in the prior calendar year. To submit a "Shine the Light" request, you may contact us by using the methods described in this Policy. Please include in your request a current California address and your attestation that you are a California resident.