Stack Overflow Stack Overflow Privacy Policy changes — 20181201_rev01

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Stack Overflow is a global community and as such, you may access the Stack Overflow Network from most anywhere in the world, and are subject to the local laws of your jurisdiction. By accessing the Stack Overflow Network and engaging with our Products and Services, you acknowledge that your personal data may be collected and transferred from your local jurisdiction (including member states to the European Union) to the United States.

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Where Stack Overflow transfers your personal data from your local jurisdiction (including member states to the European Union) we rely on certain lawful transfer mechanisms to do so, including the following lawful bases for such transfers:

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Privacy Shield

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Stack Overflow complies with the EU - US Privacy Shield Framework and Swiss - US Privacy Shield Framework as set forth by the U.S. Department of Commerce regarding the collection, use and retention of personal information transferred from the European Union and Switzerland to the United States. Stack Overflow has certified (note: certification under legal name Stack Exchange, Inc.) to the Department of Commerce that it adheres to the Privacy Shield Principles including onward transfer principles as amended by the GDPR where applicable. If there is any conflict between the terms in this privacy policy and the Privacy Shield Principles, the Privacy Shield Principles shall govern. To learn more about the Privacy Shield program, and to view our certification, please visit [https://www.privacyshield.gov/](https://www.privacyshield.gov/). Covered entities include Stack Exchange, Inc., Stack Exchange, Ltd., and Stack Overflow GmbH. Stack Exchange is subject to the investigatory and enforcement powers of the Federal Trade Commission / Department of Transportation. Stack Overflow has further committed to refer unresolved Privacy Shield complaints to the PrivacyTrust Shield Program, an alternative dispute resolution provider located in the United Kingdom. If you do not receive timely acknowledgement of your complaint from Stack Overflow, or if we have not addressed your concern to your satisfaction, please contact us: privacy (at) stackoverflow (dot) com or visit [https://www.privacytrust.com/drs/stackexchange](https://www.privacytrust.com/drs/stackexchange) or at the contact information provided below.

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Stack Overflow complies with the EU - US Privacy Shield Framework and Swiss - US Privacy Shield Framework as set forth by the U.S. Department of Commerce regarding the collection, use and retention of personal information transferred from the European Union and Switzerland to the United States. Stack Overflow has certified (note: certification under legal name Stack Exchange, Inc.) to the Department of Commerce that it adheres to the Privacy Shield Principles including onward transfer principles as amended by the GDPR where applicable. Stack Overflow acknowledges accountability under the onward transfer principles of the Privacy Shield Framework when transferring data to to third parties. If there is any conflict between the terms in this privacy policy and the Privacy Shield Principles, the Privacy Shield Principles shall govern. To learn more about the Privacy Shield program, and to view our certification, please visit [https://www.privacyshield.gov/](https://www.privacyshield.gov/). Stack Exchange, Inc. is subject to the investigative and enforcement powers of the Federal Trade Commission. Under certain circumstances, you may invoke binding arbitration to determine, for residual claims, whether Stack Overflow has violated its Privacy Shield obligations, and whether any such violation remains fully or partially unremedied. Stack Overflow has further committed to refer unresolved Privacy Shield complaints to the PrivacyTrust Shield Program, an alternative dispute resolution provider located in the United Kingdom. If you do not receive timely acknowledgement of your complaint from Stack Overflow, or if we have not addressed your concern to your satisfaction, please contact us: privacy (at) stackoverflow (dot) com or visit [https://www.privacytrust.com/drs/stackexchange](https://www.privacytrust.com/drs/stackexchange) or at the contact information provided below.

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Standard Contractual Clauses

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The European Commission has adopted standard contractual clauses (also referred to as model clauses), which provide safeguards to protect the transfer of personal information outside of the European Union. We may use these standard contractual clauses when transferring personal information outside of the European Union. You may review and request a copy of such standard contractual clauses as used by Stack Overflow by contacting us at legal (at) stackoverflow (dot) com.

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OUR ONGOING COMMITMENT TO DATA SECURITY

96	96	When we publish the Developer Survey, it is published as a compilation of anonymized data, which means that we take every effort to ensure that your information is understood in a statistical narrative decoupled from your personal identity.
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98	98	If you have any questions concerning the Developer Survey and our security measures to protect your sensitive personal data, please contact us at: privacy (at) stackoverflow (dot) com.
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100	100	YOUR CHOICE AND CONTROL OF THE INFORMATION WE COLLECT ON YOU
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102		Privacy is a guiding principle of all Stack Overflow Products and Services and we value your privacy. To this end, we provide you with the ability to control how your information is stored, and what information is collected. You may change or correct your account settings, and choose not to share certain information by creating a pseudonymous account. Additionally, much of the data we collect is voluntary and your choice entirely to provide us or not. You may also remove certain optional information that you no longer wish to be publicly displayed, such as your photo, or job history. And of course, should you wish, you may also request the permanent deletion of your account, in which case all personal information collected on you will be removed from our servers and encrypted (except, in some cases your IP address required for security purposes, site maintenance, and spam protection).
	102	Privacy is a guiding principle of all Stack Overflow Products and Services and we value your privacy. To this end, we provide you with the ability to control how your information is stored, and what information is collected. You may change or correct your account settings, and choose not to share certain information by creating a pseudonymous account. Additionally, much of the data we collect is voluntary and your choice entirely to provide us or not. You may also remove certain optional information that you no longer wish to be publicly displayed, such as your photo, or job history. In the event Stack Overflow decides to provide additional opt-out or opt-in mechanisms under the Privacy Shield Framework, the mechanisms will be clear, conspicuous, and readily available for you to exercise your choice. And of course, should you wish, you may also request the permanent deletion of your account, in which case all personal information collected on you will be removed from our servers and encrypted (except, in some cases your IP address required for security purposes, site maintenance, and spam protection).
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104	104	We also provide you additional data control options, created by the GDPR, but provided to the Stack Overflow community regardless of geographic location with respect to your information, including data access and portability (including the right to obtain and download a copy of the personal data you provided to Stack Overflow), data correction (the ability to update the personal data we collect and display on you, in many cases via your account settings), data deletion (where Stack Overflow will delete personal information stored on you, which we are not required by necessity to maintain), and the ability to have us stop processing your personal data (with certain exceptions as may be necessary). For more information on these choices you have over how we collect and store your personal data please visit our [GDPR page](https://stackoverflow.com/legal/gdpr). Please also be aware that in order to provide some of these data choices to you, we may need to first verify your identity. We will make reasonable efforts to verify your identity, however if we are unable to do so, we reserve the right to refuse such a request in keeping with data privacy and information security principles.
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106	106	You may additionally control the receipt of certain marketing and advertising communications from Stack Overflow. Some messages that we send are required, and related to our legal obligations, or service related and mandatory. Other messages, like marketing and advertising communications are provided by us to let you know how you can continue to share, learn, and build your knowledge within the Stack Overflow community, and are voluntary. We provide you with the opportunity to control which voluntary messages you would like to receive in your [Email Settings](https://stackoverflow.com/users/email/settings/current).
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108	108	COOKIES
151	151	Stack Overflow is a global community and as such, you may access the Stack Overflow Network from most anywhere in the world, and are subject to the local laws of your jurisdiction. By accessing the Stack Overflow Network and engaging with our Products and Services, you acknowledge that your personal data may be collected and transferred from your local jurisdiction (including member states to the European Union) to the United States.
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153	153	Where Stack Overflow transfers your personal data from your local jurisdiction (including member states to the European Union) we rely on certain lawful transfer mechanisms to do so, including the following lawful bases for such transfers:
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155	155	Privacy Shield
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157		Stack Overflow complies with the EU - US Privacy Shield Framework and Swiss - US Privacy Shield Framework as set forth by the U.S. Department of Commerce regarding the collection, use and retention of personal information transferred from the European Union and Switzerland to the United States. Stack Overflow has certified (note: certification under legal name Stack Exchange, Inc.) to the Department of Commerce that it adheres to the Privacy Shield Principles including onward transfer principles as amended by the GDPR where applicable. If there is any conflict between the terms in this privacy policy and the Privacy Shield Principles, the Privacy Shield Principles shall govern. To learn more about the Privacy Shield program, and to view our certification, please visit [https://www.privacyshield.gov/](https://www.privacyshield.gov/). Covered entities include Stack Exchange, Inc., Stack Exchange, Ltd., and Stack Overflow GmbH. Stack Exchange is subject to the investigatory and enforcement powers of the Federal Trade Commission / Department of Transportation. Stack Overflow has further committed to refer unresolved Privacy Shield complaints to the PrivacyTrust Shield Program, an alternative dispute resolution provider located in the United Kingdom. If you do not receive timely acknowledgement of your complaint from Stack Overflow, or if we have not addressed your concern to your satisfaction, please contact us: privacy (at) stackoverflow (dot) com or visit [https://www.privacytrust.com/drs/stackexchange](https://www.privacytrust.com/drs/stackexchange) or at the contact information provided below.
	157	Stack Overflow complies with the EU - US Privacy Shield Framework and Swiss - US Privacy Shield Framework as set forth by the U.S. Department of Commerce regarding the collection, use and retention of personal information transferred from the European Union and Switzerland to the United States. Stack Overflow has certified (note: certification under legal name Stack Exchange, Inc.) to the Department of Commerce that it adheres to the Privacy Shield Principles including onward transfer principles as amended by the GDPR where applicable. Stack Overflow acknowledges accountability under the onward transfer principles of the Privacy Shield Framework when transferring data to to third parties. If there is any conflict between the terms in this privacy policy and the Privacy Shield Principles, the Privacy Shield Principles shall govern. To learn more about the Privacy Shield program, and to view our certification, please visit [https://www.privacyshield.gov/](https://www.privacyshield.gov/). Stack Exchange, Inc. is subject to the investigative and enforcement powers of the Federal Trade Commission. Under certain circumstances, you may invoke binding arbitration to determine, for residual claims, whether Stack Overflow has violated its Privacy Shield obligations, and whether any such violation remains fully or partially unremedied. Stack Overflow has further committed to refer unresolved Privacy Shield complaints to the PrivacyTrust Shield Program, an alternative dispute resolution provider located in the United Kingdom. If you do not receive timely acknowledgement of your complaint from Stack Overflow, or if we have not addressed your concern to your satisfaction, please contact us: privacy (at) stackoverflow (dot) com or visit [https://www.privacytrust.com/drs/stackexchange](https://www.privacytrust.com/drs/stackexchange) or at the contact information provided below.
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159	159	Standard Contractual Clauses
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161	161	The European Commission has adopted standard contractual clauses (also referred to as model clauses), which provide safeguards to protect the transfer of personal information outside of the European Union. We may use these standard contractual clauses when transferring personal information outside of the European Union. You may review and request a copy of such standard contractual clauses as used by Stack Overflow by contacting us at legal (at) stackoverflow (dot) com.
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163	163	OUR ONGOING COMMITMENT TO DATA SECURITY

Stack Overflow Privacy Policy

Full text changes — 20180601_rev01 to 20181201_rev01