Privacy Policy

Last Updated: May 1, 2020

At iMarS, we want to connect ship operators and surveyors through marine survey services. This document explains what information we receive from operators and surveyors and how we use these to improve our services. 

Scope of this Privacy Policy

iMarS (“iMarS,” “we,” “our,” and/or “us”) values the privacy of individuals who use our application, websites, and related services (collectively, the “iMarS Platform”). This privacy policy (the “Privacy Policy”) explains how we collect, use, and share information from iMarS users (“Users”), comprised of both operators (“Operators”) and surveyors (including Individual Surveyor applicants and Surveyors from a Survey Company applicants) (“Surveyors”). Beyond the Privacy Policy, your use of iMarS is also subject to our Terms of Service.

Information We Collect

We collect both personally identifiable information (PII) and non-personally identifiable (NPII) information from you as explained below. By signing up, you agree to the “Terms of Service” and this “Privacy Policy”. This policy is governed by Texas Law, and you agree to terms of service including governing law and dispute resolution procedure in “Terms of Service”. If you are a resident of the State of California, your privacy rights are governed by the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), and if you are a resident of one of the member countries of European Union (EU), your privacy rights are governed by the General Data Protection Regulation (EU GDPR).

A. Information You Provide to Us

Registration Information. When you sign up for an iMarS account, you give us certain information including your name, email address, and phone number. For operator companies and survey companies, company name and company tax ID are also required during sign up. After logging in, we may ask additional information from users for verification purposes. For companies, invoice addressed to the company, utility bill, incorporation certificate, personal identification document, and Tax ID document are asked for company verification. Survey companies and individual surveyors may add years of experience, a profile picture, and “About Me” section to their user profile. We may share this information with our partners, who help us by running background checks on Surveyors and Operators to help protect the iMarS platform.

User Profile Information. When you join iMarS platform as a surveyor (company or individual), you can create an “About me” section to share information about yourself and services you provide. Filling out an “About Me” section is optional, and you can share as little or as much as you want. Your name (and for Surveyors, Profile photos) is always part of your Profile. Surveyor name, company name, rating, reviews, “About me”, years of experience (some of which are PII) may be shared with operators while searching for a surveyor. You give consent for sharing this information with registered operators.

Payment Method. Operator companies use wire transfer to iMarS associated bank account provided in the invoice sent to the operator companies, therefore operators do not share their bank account information in iMarS platform. Survey companies and individual (freelance) surveyors select payment method (ACH payment, PayPal, or Wire Transfer) and share the receiving account information for iMarS to transfer their accumulated balance when a balance transfer is requested. iMarS use the payment method information entered by surveyors (Survey Company or Individual Surveyors) solely to transfer funds.

Communications. If you contact us directly, we may receive additional information about you. For example, when you contact our Customer Support Team, we will receive your name, email address, phone number, the contents of a message or attachments that you may send to us, and other information you choose to provide.

Payment Information. To make sure Surveyors get paid, we keep information about Surveyors’ bank routing numbers, tax information, and any other payment information provided by Surveyors.

B. Information We Collect When You Use the IMarS Platform

Port and Services Information. Surveyors share the list of ports they provide services, and the kind of services they would like to provide in these ports. Surveyors enter the pricing for services and transportation costs for each port. This information is shared with operators who are searching for a service at a port.

Device Information. iMarS may receive information from Users’ devices, including IP address, web browser type, mobile operating system version, phone carrier and manufacturer, application installations, device identifiers, mobile advertising identifiers, push notification tokens.

Usage Information. To help us understand how you use the iMarS Platform and to help us improve it, we may receive information about your interactions with the iMarS Platform, like the pages or other content you view, your actions within the iMarS app, and the dates and times of your visits.

Messaging Information. iMarS provides a messaging service between Operators and Surveyors who have been connected for a marine survey. We receive information about these communications including the date and time of the messages, and the content of messages.

User Feedback. At IMarS, we want to make sure Operators are always satisfied with marine survey services provided by Surveyors. Operators may rate and review Surveyors at the end of every marine survey conducted. We receive information about ratings and reviews and give Operators information about Surveyors’ ratings and reviews during appointing surveyors.

Information from Cookies and Similar Technologies. We may collect information through the use of “cookies”, tracking pixels, and similar technologies to understand how you navigate through the iMarS Platform and interact with iMarS advertisements, to learn what content is popular, and to save your preferences. Cookies are small text files that web servers place on your device; they are designed to store basic information and to help websites and apps recognize your browser. We may use both session cookies and persistent cookies. A session cookie disappears after you close your browser. A persistent cookie remains after you close your browser and may be accessed every time you use the iMarS Platform. You should consult your web browser(s) to modify your cookie settings. Please note that if you delete or choose not to accept cookies from us, you may be missing out on certain features of the iMarS Platform.

C. Information We Collect from Third Parties

How We Use the Information We Collect

We use the information we collect from all Users to:

  • Connect Operators with Surveyors;

  • Provide, improve, expand, and promote the iMarS Platform;

  • Analyze how the iMarS Users uses the iMarS Platform;   

  • Communicate with you, either directly or through one of our partners, including for marketing and promotional purposes;

  • Personalize the iMarS experience for you;

  • Send you emails, text messages and push notifications;

  • Facilitate transactions, payments, and fund transfers;

  • Provide you with customer support;

  • Find and prevent fraud; and

  • Respond to issues that may arise, including disputes between Operators and Surveyors, and requests from government authorities.

Additionally, we use the information we collect from Surveyors and Operators for the following purposes related to using iMarS Platform:

  • Sending emails and text messages to Surveyors and Operators who have signed up regarding the status of their user verification;

  • Determining a Surveyor’s and Operator’s eligibility to use iMarS Platform

How We Share the Information We Collect

A. Sharing Between Users

Sharing between Operators and Surveyors. Operators and Surveyors that have been matched for a marine survey are able to see basic information about each other, such as names, photo, ratings, reviews, pricing, and any information they have added to their Profiles. Surveyors see vessel, port, date, agent, and any other information Operator has provided. Operators see a Surveyor’s name, company name (if a survey company), rating, reviews, pricing, experience, “About Me”, and any other information Surveyor have added to their Profile. Operators’ ratings of Surveyors are shared with Surveyors and other Operators. Information submitted in survey reports by surveyors is shared with the operators and is within the responsibility of the surveyors who generate the reports. The chat messaging between operators and surveyors are also not controlled by iMarS and the information you provide is shared with the other party of the chat. You understand and acknowledge that iMarS does not have control of how the user PII or NPII is used by the users of the platform.

B. Sharing Between iMarS and Marine InfoTech

iMarS platform is a product of Marine InfoTech LLC and the contact information such as your name, email address and phone number may be shared with Marine InfoTech LLC and you may receive communication regarding new products developed by Marine InfoTech LLC.

Other Sharing. We may share your information with third parties in the following cases:

  • While negotiating or in relation to a change of corporate control such as a restructuring, merger or sale of our assets;

  • If a government authority requests information and we think disclosure is required or appropriate in order to comply with laws, regulations, or a legal process;

  • With law enforcement officials, government authorities, or third parties if we think doing so is necessary to protect the rights, property, or safety of the iMarS platform, iMarS, or the public;

  • To comply with a legal requirement or process, including but not limited to, civil and criminal subpoenas, court orders or other compulsory disclosures.

  • If you signed up for a promotion with another User’s referral or promotion code, with your referrer to let them know about your redemption of or qualification for the promotion;

  • To provide information about the use of the iMarS Platform to potential business partners in aggregated or de-identified form that can’t reasonably be used to identify you; and

  • Whenever you consent to the sharing.

Your Choices

Email Subscriptions. You can always unsubscribe from our commercial or promotional emails by contacting us at imars@marineinfotech.com but we will still send you transactional and relational emails about your account use of the iMarS Platform.

Text Messages. You can opt out of receiving commercial or promotional text messages anytime, but we may send you transactional and relational texts about phone number verification and account use of iMarS platform. You may opt out of receiving all texts from iMarS, but this may impact your use of the iMarS Platform.

Push Notifications. You can opt out of receiving push notifications through your device settings for iMarS mobile app. Please note that opting out of receiving push notifications may impact your use of the iMarS Platform (such as receiving a notification that you have a new survey request).

Profile Information. While Surveyors’ name, and company name (if applicable) will be shared with Operators during appointing a marine survey, and Operators’ name and company name, vessel information will be shared with Surveyors who the Operators select for the marine survey, Surveyors can remove their profile picture, or “About Me” section anytime they want.  

Editing and Accessing Your Information. You can review and edit certain account information by logging in to your account and profile. If you would like to terminate your IMarS account, please contact us through “Report an Issue” menu for your request. If you choose to terminate your account, we will deactivate it for you but may retain information from your account for a certain period of time and disclose it in a manner consistent with our practices under this Privacy Policy for accounts that are not closed. We also may retain information from your account to collect any fees owed, resolve disputes, troubleshoot problems, analyze usage of the iMarS Platform, assist with any investigations, prevent fraud, enforce our Terms of Service, or take other actions as required or permitted by law.

Other

Data Security. We are committed to protecting the data of the IMarS platform. Even though we take reasonable precautions to protect your data, no security measures can be 100% secure, and we cannot guarantee the security of your data.

Children’s Privacy. iMarS is not directed to children, and we don’t knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If we find out that a child under 13 has given us personal information, we will take steps to delete that information. If you believe that a child under the age of 13 has given us personal information, please contact us through “Report an Issue” menu for your request.

Changes to Our Privacy Policy. We may make changes to this Privacy Policy from time to time. If we make any material changes, we will let you know through the iMarS Platform, by email, or other communication. We encourage you to read this Privacy Policy periodically to stay up-to-date about our privacy practices. During your use of the iMarS Platform, you are agreeing to this Privacy Policy and any updates we make to it.

Contact Information. Feel free to contact us at any time with any questions or comments about this Privacy Policy, your personal information, our use and sharing practices, or your consent choices through “Report an Issue” menu.