Privacy Policy

Purpose

This Privacy Policy is designed to explain the Houston Zoo’s policies and procedures with respect of collection, use, and disclosure by the Houston Zoo of information about you in connection with the Houston Zoo website. This Privacy Policy has a limited scope and applies only to the Houston Zoo website.

At the Houston Zoo, we take every precaution to protect the information of our users. This includes online data that is collected through the Houston Zoo website, our secure e-commerce system (Galaxy), in any related online shops, e-newsletter registration through Emma, and offline, both on computers and on paper. We will never ask you for your social security number, sex, race, national origin, or disability, and we will never sell or share your information with other organizations.

Security

All of our users’ information, not just sensitive information, is restricted in our offices. Only employees who need the information to perform a specific job (for example, our billing clerk or a customer service representative) are granted access to personally identifiable information. All employees are trained and kept up-to-date on our security and privacy practices. Our employees are notified and reminded regularly about the importance we place on privacy and what they can do to ensure our users’ information is protected.

We utilize both online and offline security methods, including firewalls, passwords, and restricted physical access to the places where your information is stored to help protect personally identifiable information. The servers that store personally identifiable information are in a secure environment, in a locked facility.

Type of Information Actively Collected
At various times, the Houston Zoo may collect personal information from its website users. Such information may include your name, address, telephone number, and email address.

Furthermore, for a purchase made through the Zoo’s secure e-commerce site or the Houston Zoo’s online shop, a user may be required to provide additional information such as your credit card number, expiration date, and billing information.

Type of Information Passively Collected

In addition to the information which users actively provide to the Houston Zoo noted above, the Houston Zoo also collects information about how users interact with the Houston Zoo website. We collect passive information for purposes such as (1) testing and improving user experience with the Houston Zoo website, (2) the compilation of demographic data and related usage information for internal purposes, and (3) for disclosure to third parties such as advertisers and business partners.

The types of passive information the Houston Zoo collects include, without limitation, certain standard information sent by your Internet browser, such as your Internet Protocol (IP) address, your device ID, your browser type and capabilities and language, your operating system, the date and time you access the Houston Zoo website, and the referring website from which you linked to the Houston Zoo website. We also collect information related to pages viewed, links clicked, and other actions taken within on the Houston Zoo’s website. We also may utilize special links, electronic images, or other objects embedded within the Houston Zoo website—sometimes referred to as web beacons or tracking pixels—to collect information that helps determine and analyze how you and other visitors use the Houston Zoo website.

If you have provided us with personal information through voluntary means, we may connect your personal information with passive information collected through the Houston Zoo website and use the combined information to help determine your potential interests in certain products, services, or information and for other purposes described in this Privacy Policy.

E-Commerce

Most e-commerce transactions between an online user and the Houston Zoo are on our secure e-commerce site, managed by a company called Galaxy. We have a separate privacy policy for this separate website.

E-Newsletter Registration

If you are interested in signing up to receive our weekly newsletter, you are welcome to sign up through our website. We use Emma as an email provider, and we collect your first name, last name, and email address if you would like to sign up for our newsletter. This information is password-protected on Emma’s website. If you wish to opt-out at any time, we provide a link in every email for you to do so.

Collection of Information from Minors

The Houston Zoo website is intended for a general audience, and it is not intended for children under the age of 13. If you are between 13 and 18 years of age, you must get permission from your parents or legal guardian before using the Houston Zoo website. Use of the Houston Zoo website is prohibited for anyone under the age of 13. If you are under the age of 13, do not attempt to provide personal information for or to otherwise use the website. If we are notified that we have collected personal information from anyone under age 13, we will delete that information as quickly as is reasonably possible.

The Houston Zoo abides by federal law and the guidelines set up by the Federal Trade Commission regarding youth privacy and the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). Although the Houston Zoo website may contain information that may be of interest to children, the Houston Zoo website is not directed at children, and we do not knowingly collect or solicit personal information from children under the age 13.

To report use by a child under age 13, please contact us at the e-mail address listed above, and include the following information:

Name of the child you are reporting;
The child’s username or alias he or she is using;
E-mail address used by the child;
Actual age of the child;
Your relationship to the child;
Your basis for making the report.

Internet Hyperlinks

This Privacy Policy applies solely to the information collected by us on-line through the Houston Zoo website and does not apply to any website, application, or service other than the Houston Zoo website. The Houston Zoo website contains hyperlinks to other websites, applications, and services provided by third parties that we do not own or control. The Houston Zoo cannot be responsible for the privacy policies and practices of those third party websites, applications, and services. Similarly, we cannot be responsible for the privacy policies and practices of any other websites, applications, and services from which you linked to the Houston Zoo website. We encourage you to be aware when you leave or stop using the Houston Zoo website and to read the privacy policies of each and every third party that may be providing websites, applications, or information linked to the Houston Zoo website.

Web Forms

We use forms on our website for many purposes, including but not limited to registration forms, event inquiries, membership donations, internship applications, or even to give you an opportunity to ask us general questions. When you submit information through a form, it is stored in a database on our web server that can only be accessed by members of the Houston Zoo staff that we designate and train. A copy of the form may also, depending on which form it is, be sent to the email address of the staff member collecting the information.

Web Analytics

In order to make our website the best it can be, we analyze information from site users to help us learn how people are using the site, if they are using a mobile device or a desktop computer, or visiting from a certain part of the world. We use the industry standard tool for web analysis, called Google Analytics. This information helps us constantly improve our site and better serve our guests. Google Analytics uses HTTP Cookies, a small piece of data stored in your web browser, to “remember” what a user has done on previous pages/interactions with the website. Usage of a cookie is in no way linked to any personally identifiable information about the user.

Privacy Rights of California Residents

If you are a California resident, you are entitled to additional privacy rights under California law. If you submit a written request to the address above, the Houston Zoo will provide you with a California Customer Choice Notice that you may use to opt-out of third party personal information sharing. Please specify on your request that you are seeking your “California Customer Choice Notice” and allow at least 30 days for a response.

Other Provisions

Your use of the Houston Zoo website indicates an acceptance of the terms of this Privacy Policy. We reserve the right to update or amend this Privacy Policy at any time. We will post any revised version of this Privacy Policy on our website, and we encourage you to refer back to it on a regular basis. The changes contained in any such revised version of this Privacy Policy will be effective from the time such revised version is posted unless otherwise specifically stated therein.

This Privacy Policy does not create or confer upon any individual any rights, or impose upon the Houston Zoo any rights or obligations outside of, or in addition to, any rights or obligations imposed by the privacy laws of such individual’s jurisdiction, as applicable. Privacy legislation and an individual’s right to privacy may differ from one jurisdiction to another. The rights and obligations described in this Privacy Policy may not apply to all individuals or in all jurisdictions. Should there be, in a specific case, any inconsistency between this Privacy Policy and the applicable privacy laws of such individual’s jurisdiction, this Privacy Policy shall be interpreted, in respect of that case, to give effect to, and comply with, such privacy laws.

Please be aware that, by accessing the Houston Zoo website, you acknowledge that our servers are currently located in the State of Texas and that the various communications may necessarily result in the transfer of information across state and international boundaries. By accessing the Houston Zoo website and communicating electronically with us, you consent to the processing and transfer of your personal information as set out in this Privacy Policy. By choosing to access the Houston Zoo website, you consent to any such transfer, storage, or processing of personal data outside of your state or country.