Updated January 2012
This Privacy Policy is issued, and practiced, by Skyhook Inc. in support of its location technology. Skyhook takes an individual's personal privacy very seriously and is committed to maintaining that privacy and trust in us.
Overview
Skyhook Location Technology works using satellite data from the GPS on a device and by scanning for Wi-Fi access points and cell towers visible to the device and then using those access points as reference points to calculate the physical location of the device.
Skyhook Location does not collect any information about the user, including the user's, name, contact information or any other personally identifiable data. When Skyhook Location is installed and used for the first time, a unique and random key is generated. This key provides a mechanism that Skyhook uses to ensure accurate and secure data transmissions between the device and Skyhook's location server. This key does not contain any personal data.
Location Information
Skyhook CAN NOT, DOES NOT and WILL NOT track a user's location. Any queries to determine location are made in the blind and are not paired with any personally identifiable information. Skyhook Location is only operational when, through the user interface of the Skyhook-enabled application, a user either (a) manually initiates a location query or (b) configures the application to automatically initiate a location query on a periodic or event-triggered basis. The user controls this process completely.
When a location query is initiated, Skyhook scans for Wi-Fi access points and cell towers and collects relevant information about the access points and cell towers it can 'hear'. This includes certain identifying information such as the access point's MAC address (an alphanumeric code that is unique to that hardware device), the cell tower's cell ID and the corresponding signal strength as determined by the user device.
Skyhook Location may, if configured by the end-user application, also identify the Internet Protocol or IP address (a unique identifier assigned to any device accessing the Internet) of a device. The identification of an IP address is a standard, commonly accepted practice used by a majority of the websites and services on the Internet.
In some cases, the application may also allow users to elect to identify or fine-tune location by entering a current street address. When users elect to identify their location using this method, the Skyhook Location Server will capture the location entered, the identity of the Wi-Fi access points and cell towers within range, and the unique auto-generated Skyhook Location key and then post the location and access point data to the central location server. Until the location of the identified access points is independently verified, this user-entered location is only available for location-determination purposes to the user who entered the information. See Storage of Information, below, for additional information. No other information, to include any personal information about the user or the user's device, is collected.
Transmission of Information
When Skyhook is instructed to conduct a location-based function (either manually, automatically or as part of the tuning it performs in the background) in Networked or (in some cases) mixed modes, Skyhook transmits all of the collected information via a standard HTTPS or other type of secure connection such as SUPL to a location server maintained and managed either by Skyhook or one of our trusted customers or partners.
The central location server uses this information to then perform algorithmic functions that determine the location of a device in relation to the known access points in the database. The server will then return, via a secure transmission, the calculated approximate location of that device in the form of a latitude and longitude or some other geo-coded location-determination parameter (e.g. city, state).
If the central location server cannot determine the device location using this method, it may then default to using its IP address to approximate a location. The server will then return, via secure transmission, this approximated location to the device in the form of a latitude or longitude or some other geo-coded location-determination parameter (e.g. City, state).
A user can in some cases also elect to identify or fine-tune the exact current location using any location-tuning functionality that may be enabled by the end-user application. When users elect to identify location using this method, Skyhook's location server will capture the location entered and the identity of the Wi-Fi access points within range and post the location and access point data to the central location server.
Skyhook may periodically contact the central location server, or the central location server may post to your instance of Skyhook, that a new version, update or upgrade to Skyhook Location is available. Skyhook will then notify the developer of an available update and offer them the option to install the update. If the developer elects to install the update, it will be downloaded and installed. Additional instructions may also be delivered to the developer.
When operating in autonomous or (in some cases) mixed modes Skyhook does not make any connection to a central location server as part of a central location request.
Storage of Information
Other than the unique and random ID associated with a specific location request, all data transmitted by Skyhook Location to the central server is stored in a transaction log. At no time do we store or retain the random ID; this is used only to pair a location request with a location requestor to facilitate a specific, one-time location transaction and for no other purpose. No information about a particular user or device is retained on the system.
The transaction log is used to improve the quality, accuracy, and efficacy of the location-determination capabilities of Skyhook Location and other Skyhook products or services. This includes the location of new Wi-Fi access points and cell towers and updating or modifying the location of previously recorded Wi-Fi access points or cell towers and refining the location of IP addresses.
It also includes the user-entered street address information submitted using the location-tuning capabilities of the end-user application..
The information collected may be stored and processed in the United States or any other country where Skyhook has, either directly or through a partner, vendor or affiliate, facilities and/or operations.
This collected information is referred to as 'Tier 2' data and is used to help us improve and refine Skyhook Location Technology. We remove this collected data from Skyhook's database within 72 hours and move it to an off-line data storage system where it is encrypted. This data is then aggregated and retained over time and used by our research and development team to further improve the accuracy and positioning capabilities of Skyhook Location Technology.
Use of Information
The information collected by Skyhook is used to operate the product and to provide the service(s) or carry out the transaction(s) users have requested or authorized, such as determining location. Skyhook may use the information collected to improve the quality, accuracy and efficiency of the location-determination capabilities of Skyhook Location and other Skyhook products or services. Skyhook may also use this information to deliver targeted, location-based advertising or to aggregate data about general usage (e.g., there are X number of Skyhook users in the 12345 ZIP code) to potential advertisers.
Disclosure of Information
Skyhook will NOT sell, rent, lease, trade, barter or disclose any personal user information except as otherwise stated in this policy.
Access to information is limited to only those employees, contractors, agents and affiliates of Skyhook who have a reasonable need to access such information in the official performance of their duties.
Skyhook may disclose or transfer the information upon the closing of a definitive agreement under which a majority of the outstanding stock or assets of Skyhook are acquired by a third party. Skyhook may disclose location information if required to do so by law or in the good faith belief that such action is necessary to (a) conform to a legal order or comply with legal process served on Skyhook; (b) protect and defend the rights or property of Skyhook; or (c) act in urgent circumstances to protect the health and safety of any persons.
You will be notified of any act of disclosure, where not prevented by law, court order, contractual agreement or obligation of confidentiality, by prominent notice on the website www.skyhookwireless.com.
Changes to this Privacy Policy
Skyhook reserves the right to change this Privacy Policy at any time effective upon its posting at http://www.skyhookwireless.com/privacypolicy.html. Since Skyhook does not collect any personal information about you, including your contact information, we cannot and will not notify you personally of any changes to this policy. It is therefore your obligation to periodically review this policy at http://www.skyhookwireless.com/whoweare/privacypolicy.php.
Your continued use of the product and services constitutes your acceptance of the current version of the Privacy Policy.
Questions and Comments
If you have questions or comments about this Privacy Policy, please contact us.