PRIVACY POLICY

Effective Date:  December 1, 2004

General Mills is committed to providing a fun, entertaining, and safe online experience to people of all ages that may visit this site, and we take special care to protect the privacy of children under the age of 13. We have developed our privacy practices based on guidelines established by the Children's Advertising Review Unit of the better Business Bureau (CARU) and in compliance with the requirements established by the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998 (COPPA). We also recommend that parents monitor their children's internet activities and learn to employ software or other tools that can help children enjoy the fun and entertainment of an online experience without compromising their personal safety or allowing them to use the internet in a manner inconsistent with their parents' preferences.

What information might we collect from children and how might we use it?
At General Mills, it is our policy to create website experiences for children that require limited or no collection of personal information.  Generally, we limit our collection of information to non-personally identifiable information that is gathered through a child's voluntary submission to us or through the use of cookie, web beacon, or similar technology.

From time to time, however, we may request limited personal information from a child (such as name or email address) in order for that child to participate in particular activities at this site.  Except in special, limited circumstances, we do not collect such information from a child under 13 without the prior consent of a parent/guardian.  When we ask for consent, we will tell the parent/guardian what we will do with the information that their child provides to us, how they can review their child's information, and how they can request us to delete it.  General Mills does not condition a child's participation in any activity on the website on a child's disclosure of more information than is reasonably necessary to conduct the activity.

As mentioned above, from time to time, we may collect information at this site from a child under 13 without prior consent of a parent/guardian, but only in these special, limited circumstances:

1. We may seek a child's name and a parent/guardian's email contact information to seek the parent/guardian's consent or to provide them with a notification.
2. We may seek a child's name and email address in order to respond on a one-time basis to a specific request of that child.  For example, if a child sends us an email request, we will hold their email address long enough to respond to them and then delete it from our system after we have provided an answer.
3. From time to time, we may have special online promotions or offers on this site that are open for registration by children under the age of 13 (for example, a sweepstakes or contest).  If a child under the age of 13 wishes to participate, we will ask for a parent/guardian's name and email address so that we can notify them and give them an opportunity to complete the registration for their child or to opt out of the activity on behalf of their child.  Any information that is given to us in this circumstance is used only for the purpose of conducting the activity and will be deleted from our system after conclusion of the promotion and any legally required period for keeping such information.
4. We may seek a child's name and contact information to the extent reasonably necessary to protect the safety of a child participating on our website.  In this situation, the information will only be used for the purpose of protecting the child's safety and, as above, we will provide the parent/guardian with notice of this use.
5. We may seek a child's name and contact information to the extent reasonably necessary to protect the security or integrity of our website; to take precautions against liability; to respond to judicial process; or (to the extent permitted by law) to provide information to law enforcement agencies or for an investigation on a matter related to public safety.  Such information will not be used for any other purpose.

Whenever we collect personally identifiable information at the site, the information will be used solely by General Mills or its agents or contractors for the purposes indicated at the time the child (with parental/guardian notice or consent, as applicable) provides the information.  For example, if a parent registers a child in a sweepstakes, we will use the information to notify the child that he or she has won and to fulfill the sweepstakes prize.  We also may transfer, disclose, or share such information with third parties who are engaged by us specifically to administer or fulfill certain online activities (e.g., conducting sweepstakes and contests).  Such third parties have access to personal information needed to perform their functions, but may not use it for other purposes.  Lastly, we may also disclose personally identifiable information to third parties when required by law or pertinent to judicial or government investigations or proceedings, or when otherwise necessary to protect our website or the safety of its users.

How do we use cookie, web beacons, or similar technologies?
We may employ cookie technology, web beacons, and similar devices on our site to facilitate site administration and navigation and to provide an enhanced online experience for our visitors.  Information tracked through these mechanisms includes but is not limited to (1) a user's IP address (e.g., yahoo.com - 192.168.1.1), (2) the type of web browser (e.g., Microsoft Explorer) and operating system (e.g., Windows or Linux) being used, (3) the pages of the site a user visits, and (4) other websites a user visited before visiting our site.  

Most browsers accept cookies automatically, but can be configured not to do so or to notify the user when a cookie is being sent.  If you wish to disable cookies, refer to your browser help menu to learn how to disable cookies.  Cookies do not collect or contain personally identifiable information such as your child's name or email address.

Web beacons are 1x1 single-pixel graphics that allow us to count the number of users who have visited a particular web page or to access certain cookies.  We may use web beacons on our websites to count users and to recognize users by accessing our cookies.  Like cookies, web beacons do not collect or contain personally identifiable information such as name or email address.

Security
We have taken steps to protect the confidentiality, security, and integrity of all information our visitors share will us.  This includes setting up processes to avoid any unauthorized access or disclosure of this information.

Send-to-a-friend tools
This site may, from time to time, include a send-to-a-friend application that makes it easy for visitors to forward information or materials from our site to friends or family by e-mail.  In order to address the e-mail message, the application will ask for the recipient's e-mail address and/or similar information (including the sender's e-mail address).  This information is only used by the application to address the message so that it can be properly sent.  General Mills does not retain any of this information for any purpose.
 
Contacting us regarding your child’s personally identifiable information
Upon providing proper identification, parents can request review, correct, update, or have deleted their child's personally identifiable information from our database by writing to us at General Mills, Inc., Number One General Mills Boulevard, Minneapolis, MN 55426, Attn: Consumer Services. We can also be reached by telephone by dialing our consumer response department at 1-800-328-8360 weekdays from 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. Central Time.  Please feel free to use this same contact information if at any time you have questions or concerns about our Privacy Policy.

 

Changes to this policy

General Mills reserves the right to change our practices and this site's Privacy Policy at any time. Any changes will be reflected on this page.  Therefore we recommend that you visit our Privacy Policy often so that you are always fully informed.  In addition, we will send a notice to any parent informing them of any material change in the collection, use, and/or disclosure practices to which that parent previously consented.

© 2004 General Mills, Inc. and its affiliates. All Rights Reserved.