THE NEXT STEP / FREELOADERS  PRIVACY AGREEMENT 

When you use our services, you’re trusting us with your information. We understand this is a big responsibility and work hard to protect your information and put you in control.

This Privacy Policy is meant to help you understand what information we collect, why we collect it, and how you can update, manage, export, and delete your information.

We build a range of services that help millions of people daily to explore and interact with the world in new ways. 

INFORMATION THE NEXT STEP / FREELOADERS COLLECTS
We want you to understand the types of information we collect as you use our services

We collect information to provide better services to all our users — from figuring out basic stuff like which language you speak, to more complex things like which ads you’ll find most useful, the people who matter most to you online, or which YouTube videos you might like. The information THE NEXT STEP / FREELOADERS collects, and how that information is used, depends on how you use our services and how you manage your privacy controls.

When you’re not signed in to a THE NEXT STEP / FREELOADERS Account, we store the information we collect with unique identifiers tied to the browser, application, or device you’re using. This helps us do things like maintain your language preferences across browsing sessions.

When you’re signed in, we also collect information that we store with your THE NEXT STEP / FREELOADERS Account, which we treat as personal information.

Things you create or provide to us

When you create a THE NEXT STEP / FREELOADERS Account, you provide us with personal information that includes your name and a password. You can also choose to add a phone number or payment information to your account. Even if you aren’t signed in to a THE NEXT STEP / FREELOADERS Account, you might choose to provide us with information — like an email address to receive updates about our services.

We also collect the content you create, upload, or receive from others when using our services. This includes things like email you write and receive, photos and videos you save, docs and spreadsheets you create, and comments you make on YouTube videos.

Information we collect as you use our services
Your apps, browsers & devices

We collect information about the apps, browsers, and devices you use to access THE NEXT STEP / FREELOADERS services, which helps us provide features like automatic product updates and dimming your screen if your battery runs low.

The information we collect includes unique identifiers, browser type and settings, device type and settings, operating system, mobile network information including carrier name and phone number, and application version number. We also collect information about the interaction of your apps, browsers, and devices with our services, including IP address, crash reports, system activity, and the date, time, and referrer URL of your request.

We collect this information when a THE NEXT STEP / FREELOADERS service on your device contacts our servers — for example, when you install an app from the Play Store or when a service checks for automatic updates. If you’re using an Android device with THE NEXT STEP / FREELOADERS apps, your device periodically contacts THE NEXT STEP / FREELOADERS servers to provide information about your device and connection to our services. This information includes things like your device type, carrier name, crash reports, and which apps you've installed.

Your activity

We collect information about your activity in our services, which we use to do things like recommend a service you might like. The activity information we collect may include:

Terms you search for
Purchase and sales activity
People with whom you communicate or share content
Activity on third-party sites and apps that use our services
Chrome browsing history you’ve synced with your THE NEXT STEP / FREELOADERS 
If you use our services to make and receive calls or send and receive messages, we may collect telephony log information like your phone number, calling-party number, receiving-party number, forwarding numbers, time and date of calls and messages, duration of calls, routing information, and types of calls.


Visiting THE NEXT STEP / FREELOADERS

Your location information

We collect information about your location when you use our services, which helps us authenticate your legitimate usage of our sites.

Your location can be determined with varying degrees of accuracy by your IP address

In some circumstances, THE NEXT STEP / FREELOADERS also collects information about you from publicly accessible sources. For example, if your name appears on web sites, THE NEXT STEP / FREELOADERS’s  may index that article and display it to other people if they search for your name. We may also collect information about you from trusted partners, including marketing partners who provide us with information about potential customers of our business services, and security partners who provide us with information to protect against abuse. We also receive information from advertisers to provide advertising and research services on their behalf.

We use various technologies to collect and store information, including cookies, pixel tags, local storage, such as browser web storage or application data caches, databases, and server logs.


WHY THE NEXT STEP / FREELOADERS COLLECTS DATA
We use data to build better services

We use the information we collect from all our services for the following purposes:

Provide our services

We use your information to deliver our services, like processing the terms you search for in order to return results or helping you share content by suggesting recipients from your contacts.

Maintain & improve our services

We also use your information to ensure our services are working as intended, such as tracking outages or troubleshooting issues that you report to us. And we use your information to make improvements to our services — for example, understanding which search terms are most frequently misspelled helps us improve spell-check features used across our services.

Develop new services

We use the information we collect in existing services to help us develop new ones. For example, understanding how people organized their photos in Picasa, THE NEXT STEP / FREELOADERS’s first photos app, helped us design and launch THE NEXT STEP / FREELOADERS Photos.

Provide personalized services, including content and ads

We use the information we collect to customize our services for you, including providing recommendations, personalized content, and customized search results. For example, Security Checkup provides security tips adapted to how you use THE NEXT STEP / FREELOADERS products. And THE NEXT STEP / FREELOADERS Play uses information like apps you’ve already installed and videos you’ve watched on YouTube to suggest new apps you might like.

Depending on your settings, we may also show you personalized ads based on your interests. For example, if you search for “mountain bikes,” you may see an ad for sports equipment when you’re browsing a site that shows ads served by THE NEXT STEP / FREELOADERS. You can control what information we use to show you ads by visiting your ad settings.

We don’t show you personalized ads based on sensitive categories, such as race, religion, sexual orientation, or health. We don’t share information that personally identifies you with advertisers, such as your name or email, unless you ask us to. For example, if you see an ad for a nearby flower shop and select the “tap to call” button, we’ll connect your call and may share your phone number with the flower shop.


Measure performance

We use data for analytics and measurement to understand how our services are used. For example, we analyze data about your visits to our sites to do things like optimize product design. 

Communicate with you

We use information we collect, like your email address, to interact with you directly. For example, we may send you a notification if we detect suspicious activity, like an attempt to access our site using your access tokens from an unusual location. 

Protect THE NEXT STEP / FREELOADERS, our users, and the public

We use information to help improve the safety and reliability of our services. This includes detecting, preventing, and responding to fraud, abuse, security risks, and technical issues that could harm THE NEXT STEP / FREELOADERS, our users, or the public.

We use different technologies to process your information for these purposes. We use automated systems that analyze your content to provide you with things like customized search results, personalized ads, or other features tailored to how you use our services. And we analyze your content to help us detect abuse such as spam, malware, and illegal content. We also use algorithms to recognize patterns in data. 

We may combine the information we collect among our services and across your devices for the purposes described above. 

If other users already have your email address or other information that identifies you, we may show them your publicly visible THE NEXT STEP / FREELOADERS information, such as your name and photo. 

We’ll ask for your consent before using your information for a purpose that isn’t covered in this Privacy Policy.

California requirements
The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) requires specific disclosures for California residents.

This Privacy Policy is designed to help you understand how THE NEXT STEP / FREELOADERS handles your information:

We explain the categories of information THE NEXT STEP / FREELOADERS collects and the sources of that information in Information THE NEXT STEP / FREELOADERS collects.
We explain how THE NEXT STEP / FREELOADERS uses information in Why THE NEXT STEP / FREELOADERS collects data.
We explain when THE NEXT STEP / FREELOADERS may share information in Sharing your information. THE NEXT STEP / FREELOADERS does not sell your personal information.
The CCPA also provides the right to request information about how THE NEXT STEP / FREELOADERS collects, uses, and discloses your personal information. And it gives you the right to access your information and request that THE NEXT STEP / FREELOADERS delete that information. Finally, the CCPA provides the right to not be discriminated against for exercising your privacy rights.

We describe the choices you have to manage your privacy and data across THE NEXT STEP / FREELOADERS’s services in Your privacy controls. You can exercise your rights by using these controls, which allow you to access, review, update and delete your information, as well as export and download a copy of it. When you use them, we’ll validate your request by verifying that you’re signed in to your THE NEXT STEP / FREELOADERS Account. If you have questions or requests related to your rights under the CCPA, you (or your authorized agent) can also contact THE NEXT STEP / FREELOADERS.

The CCPA requires a description of data practices using specific categories. This table uses these categories to organize the information in this Privacy Policy.

Categories of personal information we collect
Identifiers such as your name, phone number, and address, as well as unique identifiers tied to the browser, application, or device you’re using.

Demographic information, such as your age, gender and language.

Commercial information such as your payment information and a history of purchases you make on THE NEXT STEP / FREELOADERS’s services.

Biometric information if you choose to provide it, such as fingerprints in THE NEXT STEP / FREELOADERS’s product development studies.

Internet, network, and other activity information such as your search terms; views and interactions with content and ads; Chrome browsing history you’ve synced with your THE NEXT STEP / FREELOADERS Account; information about the interaction of your apps, browsers, and devices with our services (like IP address, crash reports, and system activity); and activity on third-party sites and apps that use our services. You can review and control activity data stored in your THE NEXT STEP / FREELOADERS Account in My Activity.

Geolocation data, such as may be determined by GPS, IP address, and other data from sensors on or around your device, depending in part on your device and account settings. Learn more about THE NEXT STEP / FREELOADERS’s use of location information.

Audio, electronic, visual and similar information, such as voice and audio information when you use audio features.

Professional, employment, and education information, such as information you provide or that is maintained through a G Suite account by an organization at which you study or work.

Other information you create or provide, such as the content you create, upload, or receive (like photos and videos or emails, docs and spreadsheets). THE NEXT STEP / FREELOADERS Dashboard allows you to manage information associated with specific products.

Inferences drawn from the above, like your ads interest categories.

Business purposes for which information may be used or disclosed
Protecting against security threats, abuse, and illegal activity: THE NEXT STEP / FREELOADERS uses and may disclose information to detect, prevent and respond to security incidents, and for protecting against other malicious, deceptive, fraudulent, or illegal activity. For example, to protect our services, THE NEXT STEP / FREELOADERS may receive or disclose information about IP addresses that malicious actors have compromised.

Auditing and measurement: THE NEXT STEP / FREELOADERS uses information for analytics and measurement to understand how our services are used, as well as to fulfill obligations to our partners like publishers, advertisers, developers, or rights holders. We may disclose non-personally identifiable information publicly and with these partners, including for auditing purposes.

Maintaining our services: THE NEXT STEP / FREELOADERS uses information to ensure our services are working as intended, such as tracking outages or troubleshooting bugs and other issues that you report to us.

Research and development: THE NEXT STEP / FREELOADERS uses information to improve our services and to develop new products, features and technologies that benefit our users and the public. For example, we use publicly available information to help train THE NEXT STEP / FREELOADERS’s language models and build features like THE NEXT STEP / FREELOADERS Translate.

Use of service providers: THE NEXT STEP / FREELOADERS shares information with service providers to perform services on our behalf, in compliance with our Privacy Policy and other appropriate confidentiality and security measures. For example, we may rely on service providers to help provide customer support.

Advertising: THE NEXT STEP / FREELOADERS processes information, including online identifiers and information about your interactions with advertisements, to provide advertising. This keeps THE NEXT STEP / FREELOADERS’s services and many of the websites and services you use free of charge. You can control what information we use to show you ads by visiting your ad settings.

Legal reasons: THE NEXT STEP / FREELOADERS also uses information to satisfy applicable laws or regulations, and discloses information in response to legal process or enforceable government requests, including to law enforcement. We provide information about the number and type of requests we receive from governments in our Transparency Report.

Third parties to whom you consent to sharing your information, such as services that integrate with THE NEXT STEP / FREELOADERS’s services. You can review and manage third party apps and sites with access to data in your THE NEXT STEP / FREELOADERS Account.

Service providers, trusted businesses or persons that process information on THE NEXT STEP / FREELOADERS’s behalf, based on our instructions and in compliance with our Privacy Policy and any other appropriate confidentiality and security measures.


Law enforcement or other third parties, for the legal reasons described in Sharing your information.

ABOUT THIS POLICY
When this policy applies
This Privacy Policy applies to all of the services offered by THE NEXT STEP / FREELOADERS and its affiliates. This Privacy Policy doesn’t apply to services that have separate privacy policies that do not incorporate this Privacy Policy.

This Privacy Policy doesn’t apply to:

The information practices of other companies and organizations that advertise our services
Services offered by other companies or individuals, including products or sites that may include THE NEXT STEP / FREELOADERS services, be displayed to you in search results, or be linked from our services
Changes to this policy
We change this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will not reduce your rights under this Privacy Policy without your explicit consent. We always indicate the date the last changes were published and we offer access to archived versions for your review. If changes are significant, we’ll provide a more prominent notice (including, for certain services, email notification of Privacy Policy changes).