ConnectSmart™ is an application service owned by the State of Texas acting by and through the Texas Department of Transportation with a current address of 3040 Post Oak Blvd., Suite 1800-136, Houston, TX 77056 (“TxDOT”) and operated by Metropia, Inc. and its affiliates (“Metropia,” TxDOT and Metropia, collectively referred to as “Application Provider” “we,” “us,” or “our”). We take your trust and your privacy seriously. Our goal is to help safeguard your privacy while providing you with the best possible experience using ConnectSmart™ services. This Privacy Policy, including all addenda attached hereto or made part hereof now or at a later time, describes the collection, use, disclosure, and protection of personal and other information we receive or generate when you use or interact with  https://www.connectsmartmobility.com/ (the "Site"), our other websites, and all other services (collectively referred to as the "Services") offered or made available by us at the Site or through corresponding sites on social media outlets (such as through a Facebook page) or through corresponding mobile device applications. By using or accessing the Services, or by submitting information to the Application Provider, you consent to this Privacy Policy, including data monitoring and recording as set forth in this agreement.

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What Information Do We Collect?

We collect all information you submit through forms and similar methods in the Services, including: your user registration account information, email address, location address, route, trajectory, origin, destination of planned trip, selected “favorites,” and saved route for arrival time and location-based service notifications (collectively, “Personal Information”). The information we collect, including system usage, may be monitored and recorded.

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We collect all user feedback you submit in order to improve our Services and provide customer support. 

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We collect the real-time geographic location (GPS), time, speed, and travel heading of your device. We collect this information while you have our app open or running in the background to validate your trip prior to giving out rewards, and also as an element to our overall traffic data that benefits our entire user community. Through the settings of your ConnectSmart™ account, you may choose to login using your social network account and/or share information between your ConnectSmart™ account and your social network account. Using this option, you may choose to have Personal Information and other content about you available from social networks transmitted and shared through the Services. Similarly, you may choose to have Personal Information and other content about you available from ConnectSmart™ transmitted to and shared through your social network account. When location services are enabled in our mobile applications, we collect location data from your device, including latitude, longitude, altitude, speed, and heading (collectively, "Location Information"). When you use carpooling features, we collect carpooling information you provide or that is generated by your use, including your rider and driver role selections, carpool group affiliation, proposed and accepted pickup and drop‑off locations and times, route segments used for matching, trip requests and offers, match status and preferences, in‑ride and post‑ride confirmations, in‑app carpool messaging metadata, and ratings and feedback you provide about a carpool trip. 

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When the calendar integration services are enabled in our Applications and websites, we may collect events data from your calendar, which includes, without limitation, the time and location of the event and carpooling information. The Application may collect device-related information for better service purposes, such as the Operating System (OS), OS version, brand and model, screen size, device ID, browser info, etc. on smartphones and computer devices. The Application may access your phone contact list when you use the "Shared ETA" feature to notify your friends about your trip. We may also access other data that users generate by using the Application, such as reserving a route, validating a route, earning points, redeeming rewards, etc.  For more information on points and rewards, please see “Terms of Service”.

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We collect other information your app store provider lawfully shares with us. Please review your app store provider’s privacy policy for additional details. If you are participating in an employer-sponsored program, your employer may have access to your information. If you select to use a third-party service, we may share your information with such third-party to the extent they need it to provide their services and they agree to protect your information from disclosure or other unauthorized use.

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​How We Use the Information

At Metropia, Inc., your privacy matters to us. Our aim is for you to be able to use ConnectSmart™ smartly and securely. The Application Provider does not share, sell, lease, or rent the Personal Information you provide to third parties, except for the following purposes:

• To enable customization of your user experience when using the Services;

• To enable you to share information (including Location Information) with other users of the Services and on other platforms—such as authorized digital loyalty and reward service partner, Tango—and other integrated social networks, such as Twitter and Facebook;

• To communicate with you and to assist you with any questions you have about the Services;

• To offer you other products or services that may be of interest to you;

• To ease use of our Services by eliminating the need to re-enter information;

• To display content and advertising customized to your interests and preferences; and

• To create a higher quality of service.

• To share with your proposed and confirmed carpool participants only the minimum necessary information to arrange the carpool (for example, display name/initial, approximate pickup window and vicinity, destination area, and in-app contact features); precise addresses are shared only when necessary to complete pickup/drop-off and only within the active carpool session; 

• To potentially disclose carpooling information to authorized service providers who process data on our behalf under obligations of confidentiality and security, and as required by law or to protect rights, safety, and Service integrity;

• To potentially use carpooling information, Personal Information, and Location Information to prevent, detect, and respond to fraud, harassment, and other prohibited or unlawful behavior in connection with carpools, and to preserve system integrity/security; we may limit or suspend access where we reasonably suspect misuse or unsafe behavior.

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Except as otherwise indicated, Application Provider uses Location Information:

• To provide content relevant to your locations and routes;

• To enable you to store your trip information in our Trip Log feature; and

• To enable you to share Location Information with contacts (“Shared ETA” feature in ConnectSmart™ Mobile app);

• To enable carpooling features by sharing carpooling information with other users, Personal Information, and Location Information to suggest potential carpool matches, coordinate pickup and drop-off logistics.

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Carpooling and Visibility

Authorized service providers and contractors of the Application Provider may have access to your information to facilitate its use that is consistent with this Policy. Personal Information and Location Information may be used to assist us in the development of new features and services, and/or the improvement of our existing Services. The Application Provider does not verify the identity, safety, or reliability of Transportation Service Providers or other third parties as provided our Terms of Service, and the data and information you may obtain therefrom while using the Application is at your own risk. 

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The Application Provider may disclose Personal Information and/or Location Information we maintain about you to non-affiliated third parties under the following types of circumstances: to comply with federal, state, or local laws, rules, or regulations; comply with a civil, criminal, or regulatory inquiry, investigation, subpoena, or summons by federal, state, local, or other governmental authorities; cooperate with law-enforcement agencies concerning conduct or activity that is reasonably and in good faith believed to violate federal, state, or local laws, rules, or regulations; establish or exercise our legal rights or defend against legal claims; protect against legal liability; take immediate steps to protect an interest that is essential for the life or physical safety of a natural person, and where the processing cannot be manifestly based on another legal basis; prevent, detect, protect against, or respond to security incidents, identity theft, fraud, harassment, malicious or deceptive activities, or any illegal activity; preserve the integrity or security of systems, including investigating reporting, or prosecuting persons for malicious or illegal actions; or violations of the legal terms that govern your use of the Services. Additionally, such Personal Information and/or Location Information may also be collected, used, and retained by us to conduct internal research to develop, improve, or repair products, services, or technology, effectuate a product recall, or identify and repair technical errors that impair existing or intended functionality. By agreeing to this Privacy Policy, you are consenting to this collection, use, and sharing as detailed in this paragraph. In addition, the Application Provider may transfer Personal Information, Location Information, and non-personally identifiable information if the Application Provider is acquired by or merged with another entity in the Application Provider’s good-faith discretion, and shall be subject a privacy policy that is no less protective than the policies provided herein. Our use of and interest in your user data generated while using the Services shall survive the termination or expiration of your use of the Services.

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Advertising Campaigns

The Application Provider may permit, solicit, or contract certain other companies to conduct advertising campaigns on the Services. Advertisements you see when accessing the Services are redirected from the servers of those advertising companies and may be geographically or contextually targeted. Some advertisers may also use cookies on your devices. The cookies enable them to collect information about sections and features that you have accessed, advertisements posted on those sites, and the advertisements that you have viewed. The advertisers' use of cookies is subject to their own privacy policies and not to this Policy. If you wish to study the privacy policies of those advertisers, you should visit their services or contact them directly.​

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Information Security

The Application Provider has implemented security measures to help protect against the risk of loss, misuse, and alteration of any information under our control. We cannot, however, ensure or warrant the security of any information you transmit to us or store on the Services, and you do so at your own risk. We also cannot guarantee that such information may not be accessed, disclosed, altered, or destroyed by breach of any of our physical, technical, or managerial safeguards.​

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IP Addresses and Cookies 

Like other websites, the ConnectSmart™ website uses your domain, IP address, and browser information to help diagnose problems with our Services and equipment, to administer the Services, and for security purposes. "Cookies" are pieces of data sent from a Web server to a Web browser that enable a Web server to identify users that visit a site hosted by that server. The Application Provider may use Cookies and other similar technologies in order to identify you so that we can provide more customized information and services to you. In addition, advertisers on our Services may place their own Cookies. In general, if you choose, you can disable the use of Cookies by reviewing your browser's preferences and options.

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How to Opt-out & Opt-in for Sensitive Data

You can opt out of the processing of any personal data for purposes of (i) targeted advertising, (ii) the sale of personal data, or (iii) profiling in furtherance of decisions that reasonably concern you. You may opt out of services either from the settings of your mobile device’s operating system or by uninstalling the Application. At any time, you may uninstall the Application by using the removal feature of your operating system. After you uninstall the Application, the Application Provider will not be able to collect any additional location-based information from you or provide you with location-based information about sites, shops, and other places and attractions in your immediate vicinity.  

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In the event you opt out, any data collected on your usage that is in anonymized form (i.e., redacted to exclude personally identifiable information) may be retained by the Application Provider for use in its algorithms and related platforms. Some features and functionalities will be unavailable to users who opt out of granting access to Location Information services.

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For us to collect and share your sensitive data that may include personally identifying information and images of yourself and children, you must opt-in to such collection and sharing. You may opt-out of such sharing at any time in the application or by deleting the application from your device. We note that not opting-in to sharing sensitive data may limit the use and feature of the application available to you.

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Changing, Viewing, or Updating Your Information

If you wish to access or amend any other Personal Information we hold about you, or request that we delete any information about you that we have obtained from an integrated social media service, please contact us via our website at https://www.connectsmartmobility.com/ or directly through our Application. We will use reasonable efforts to process any changes you make, provided, however, that requests to delete information are subject to our internal reporting and retention policies and consistent with applicable legal obligations.

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Privacy Settings

Although we may allow you to adjust your privacy settings to limit our access to certain Personal Information, please be aware that no security measures are perfect or impenetrable. We are not responsible for circumvention of any privacy settings or security measures on the Services. Additionally, we cannot control the actions of other users with whom you may choose to share your information. Further, even after information collected by the Services is removed, caching and archiving services may have saved that information, and other users or third parties may have copied or stored the information available on the Services. We cannot and do not guarantee that information you post on or transmit to the Services will not be viewed by unauthorized persons.

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International Visitors

The Services are hosted in the United States and are intended for visitors located within the United States. If you choose to use the Services from the European Union or other regions of the world with laws governing data collection and use that may differ from U.S. law, then please note that you are transferring your Personal Information outside of those regions to the United States for storage and processing.

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Updates to this Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy may be updated or modified from time to time. We will provide notice of any changes by posting the new Privacy Policy on the Services. You are advised to consult this Privacy Policy regularly for any changes. Your use of the Site or other portions of the Services after such update or modification constitutes your acceptance of such changes to this Privacy Policy. You are also subject to the Company's Terms of Service (the "TOS") and the applicable terms and conditions of the TOS (including limitations on damages, jurisdiction of disputes, and Application of law) shall apply to this Privacy Policy and any disputes relating to privacy of information issues hereunder.

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We Use Google’s Services

Our website may use Google Analytics, which are web analytics services provided by Google LLC. These services use cookies to analyze your use of our website. The information collected by these cookies about your use of our website is transmitted to and stored on Google Servers.

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Google uses this information to assess your use of our website and provides reports on data. This data may include how often you visit our website, what pages you view when you visit the website, and what other websites you have visited prior to visiting our website. Google may transfer this information to third-parties, if required by law or if third-parties process the information on behalf of Google.

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You may review Google’s data privacy practices for Google Analytics. You may also review Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service for more information. To opt out of being tracked by Google Analytics, download and install the Google Analytics Opt out Browser Add-on.

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Questions

If you have questions about this Policy, or about how information we collect is used by the Application Provider, please visit our website at https://www.connectsmartmobility.com/ or mail us at C/O Metropia, Inc. 3040 Post Oak Blvd., Suite 1800-136 Houston, TX 77056.