The Tennessee Aquarium values and respects the privacy of our visitors (both on-site and online) and prioritizes the appropriate management and protection of any user information shared with us.
We have established this Digital Privacy Policy to inform users of our policies and practices regarding how and why we collect information, how we use it and your rights as a user.
By using this website, you acknowledge and agree to the terms and conditions of this Digital Privacy Policy. If you do not agree to these terms, please do not use this website.
Information We Collect
The Tennessee Aquarium may collect the following information through web traffic/browser data (through the use of cookies), application, registration and other online forms, e-newsletter sign-ups, surveys (on site or electronic) and transactions such as purchases or donations.
- Location/demographics – When guests access our online services, we have the capability to identify domains, IP address and general location. No personal information is revealed during this process. Your IP address may also be used to gather broad demographic information about you. This helps us to better understand our site traffic, and at no point do we access identifying information on any individual visitor.
- Usage and viewing data – We collect data including which pages users visit, how they initially accessed these pages and the amount of time spent on certain pages as well as preferred languages and basic demographic information of site visitors through tools such as Google Analytics. This allows us to continuously improve our overall user experience.
- Personal information – Contact information such as a name, phone number, and/or electronic or physical mailing address may be required to complete tasks on our website such as completing an application, form or survey. We do not share this information but may need to use this information to contact you regarding your inquiry.
- Email address – If you subscribe to our e-newsletter, you are giving your consent to electronic communication from the Tennessee Aquarium. You can always opt out of these communications using the link at the bottom of any message we send. Additionally, your email address may be added to an audience list, which we may choose to target with newsfeed ads on Facebook or other social media platforms. In this case, an anonymous list is generated by the platform. We do not have access to any individual’s social media profile(s).
How and When We Share Information
The Tennessee Aquarium does not share your information except as follows:
- With your consent, the platforms that provide Aquarium products and services to you (email service providers, event registration software, payment processing, etc.)
- when we believe in good faith that it is required by law
Ads & Re-targeting
Tnaqua.org uses the Google AdWords remarketing service to advertise on third party sites (including Google) to visitors who previously accessed our site. This could be in the form of an ad on a search results page or another site in the Google network. Third-party vendors, including Google, use cookies to serve ads based on a user’s web history. Any data collected for these purposes will be used in accordance with Google’s privacy policy. You can change your Google Ad Preferences or opt-out by adjusting your cookie settings in your browser or installing Google’s opt-out browser add-on.
We may also use social media to re-target users who show interest in a certain Aquarium-related topic, promotion or event based on either their engagement with our social media content or their page viewing history on our website through the use of the Facebook Custom Audiences or Facebook Pixel tools, respectively. In either case, the collected data remains anonymous (as presented to us by Facebook at this time). You can learn more about Facebook’s Data Use Policy here.
Website Areas Beyond the Tennessee Aquarium’s Control
This policy applies only to sites and services provided and administered by the Tennessee Aquarium (Tnaqua.org and the Tennessee Aquarium app). Any other websites, applications or platforms that you may access through our properties may have practices and policies that differ from this one. Please review third-party policies (social media, ticket purchase or event registration platforms – or any external site you reach while interacting with tnaqua.org), as the Aquarium is not responsible for the privacy policies, if any, of other services.
Children’s Privacy (Individuals Under 13 Years of Age)
You must be at least 13 years of age to use this website. We do not knowingly collect, use, or disclose personal identifiable information about visitors to our website who are under 13 years of age.
Data Security
We strive to protect your personal information from accidental loss and from unauthorized access, use, alteration, and disclosure, however, no data transmission over the Internet can be guaranteed to be 100% secure. The safety and security of your information also depends on you. Where we have given you (or where you have chosen) a password for access to certain parts of our website, you are responsible for keeping this password confidential. We ask you not to share your password with anyone. We urge you to be careful about giving out information in public areas of the website like message boards. The information you share in public areas may be viewed by any user of the website.
Although we do our best to protect your personal information, we cannot guarantee the security of your personal information transmitted to our website. Any transmission of personal information is at your own risk. We are not responsible for circumvention of any privacy settings or security measures contained on the website.
Contact Information
If you have questions, please contact us at webmaster@tnaqua.org.
Updates and Changes
This policy is effective as of the date posted above. The Tennessee Aquarium reserves the right, at any time, to change or modify this policy by posting a revised version without any notice. Any such revision will be effective immediately upon posting. It is the user’s responsibility to read and ensure agreement with all of these terms.