Help menu
To provide the Minerva Products, we must process information about you. The types of information we collect depend on how you use our Products.
Information and content you provide. We collect the content, communications and other information you provide when you use our Products, including when you sign up for an account, create or share content, and message or communicate with others. This can include information in or about the content you provide (like metadata), such as the location of a photo or the date a file was created. Our systems automatically process content and communications you and others provide to analyse context and what's in them for the purposes described below. Learn more about how you can control who can see the things you share.
Networks and connections. We collect information about the people, Pages, accounts, hashtags and groups you are connected to and how you interact with them across our Products, such as people you communicate with the most or groups you are part of. We also collect contact information if you choose to upload, sync or import it from a device (such as an address book or call log or SMS log history), which we use for things like helping you and others find people you may know and for the other purposes listed below.
Your usage. We collect information about how you use our Products, such as the types of content you view or engage with; the features you use; the actions you take; the people or accounts you interact with; and the time, frequency and duration of your activities. For example, we log when you're using and have last used our Products, and what posts, videos and other content you view on our Products. We also collect information about how you use features like our camera.
Information about transactions made on our Products. If you use our Products for purchases or other financial transactions, we collect information about the purchase or transaction. This includes payment information, such as your credit or debit card number and other card information; other account and authentication information; and billing, shipping and contact details.
Things others do and information they provide about you. We also receive and analyse content, communications and information that other people provide when they use our Products. This can include information about you, such as when others share or comment on a photo of you, send a message to you, or upload, sync or import your contact information.
As described below, we collect information from and about the computers, phones, connected TVs and other web-connected devices you use that integrate with our Products, and we combine this information across different devices you use. For example, we use information collected about your use of our Products on your phone to better personalize the content (including ads) or features you see when you use our Products on another device, such as your laptop or tablet, or to measure whether you took an action in response to an ad we showed you on your phone on a different device.
Information we obtain from these devices includes:
We use the information we have as described below to provide and support the Minerva Products. Here's how:
We use the information we have to deliver our Products, including to personalize features and content (including your trending, following and explore feeds) and make suggestions for you (such as groups or events you may be interested in or topics you may want to follow) on and off our Products. To create personalized Products that are unique and relevant to you, we use your connections, preferences, interests and activities based on the data we collect and learn from you and others (including any data with special protections you choose to provide where you have given your explicit consent); how you use and interact with our Products; and the people, places, or things you're connected to and interested in on and off our Products.
Product research and development: We use the information we have to develop, test and improve our Products, including by conducting surveys and research, and testing and troubleshooting new products and features.
Ads and other sponsored content: We use the information we have about you-including information about your interests, actions and connections-to select and personalize ads, offers and other sponsored content that we show you.
We use the information we have to help advertisers and other partners measure the effectiveness and distribution of their ads and services, and understand the types of people who use their services and how people interact with their websites, apps, and services.
We use the information we have to verify accounts and activity, combat harmful conduct, detect and prevent spam and other bad experiences, maintain the integrity of our Products, and promote safety and security on and off of Minerva Products. For example, we use data we have to investigate suspicious activity or violations of our terms or policies, or to detect when someone needs help.
We use the information we have to send you marketing communications, communicate with you about our Products, and let you know about our policies and terms. We also use your information to respond to you when you contact us.
Your information is shared with others in the following ways:
People and accounts you share and communicate with:
When you share and communicate using our Products, your content becomes public. Public information can be seen by anyone, on or off our Products, including if they don't have an account. This includes your Minerva username; information in your public profile on Minerva; and any content you share on Minerva. Your information can also be seen, accessed, reshared or downloaded through third-party services such as search engines, APIs, and offline media such as TV, and by apps, websites and other services that integrate with our Products.
You should consider what you choose to share on Minerva, because people who can see your activity on our Products can choose to share it with others on and off our Products, including people and businesses outside the audience you shared with. For example, when you share a post or send a message to specific friends or accounts, they can download, screenshot, or reshare that content to others across or off our Products. Also, when you comment on someone else's post or react to their content, your comment or reaction is visible to anyone who can see the other person's content.
People can also use our Products to create and share content about you with the audience they choose. For example, people can share a photo of you, mention or tag you, or share information about you in their posts or messages. If you are uncomfortable with what others have shared about you on our Products, you can report the content.
If the ownership or control of all or part of our Products or their assets changes, we may transfer your information to the new owner.
We work with third-party partners who help us provide and improve our Products or who use Minerva Business Tools to grow their businesses, which makes it possible to operate our companies and provide free services to people around the world. We don't sell any of your information to anyone, and we never will. We also impose strict restrictions on how our partners can use and disclose the data we provide. Here are the types of third parties we share information with:
We provide aggregated statistics and insights that help people and businesses understand how people are engaging with their posts, listings, Pages, videos and other content on and off the Minerva Products. For example, Page admins and Minerva business profiles receive information about the number of people or accounts who viewed, reacted to, or commented on their posts, as well as aggregate demographic and other information that helps them understand interactions with their Page or account.
We provide advertisers with reports about the kinds of people seeing their ads and how their ads are performing, but we don't share information that personally identifies you (information such as your name or email address that by itself can be used to contact you or identifies who you are) unless you give us permission. For example, we provide general demographic and interest information to advertisers (for example, that an ad was seen by a woman between the ages of 25 and 34 who lives in Madrid and likes sewing) to help them better understand their audience. We also confirm which Minerva ads led you to make a purchase or take an action with an advertiser.
We share information about you with companies that aggregate it to provide analytics and measurement reports to our partners.
When you subscribe to receive premium content, or buy something from a seller in our Products, the content creator or seller can receive your public information and other information you share with them, as well as the information needed to complete the transaction, including shipping and contact details.
We provide information and content to vendors and service providers who support our business, such as by providing technical infrastructure services, analysing how our Products are used, providing customer service, facilitating payments or conducting surveys.
We also provide information and content to research partners and academics to conduct research that advances scholarship and innovation that support our business or mission, and enhances discovery and innovation on topics of general social welfare, technological advancement, public interest, health and well-being.
We share information with law enforcement or in response to legal requests in the circumstances outlined below.
We collect, use and share the data that we have in the ways described above:
Under the General Data Protection Regulation, you have the right to access, rectify, port and erase your data. You also have the right to object to and restrict certain processing of your data. This includes:
We store data until it is no longer necessary to provide our services and Minerva Products, or until your account is deleted - whichever comes first. This is a case-by-case determination that depends on things like the nature of the data, why it is collected and processed, and relevant legal or operational retention needs.
When you delete your account, we delete your profile page, any account details we have stored and once deleted you won't be able to recover that information later. Content you have shared on Minerva will remain once your account has been deleted. If you wish to delete your content, please delete before terminating your account. Information that others have shared about you isn't part of your account and won't be deleted.
We access, preserve and share your information with regulators, law enforcement or others:
In response to a legal request, if we have a good-faith belief that the law requires us to do so. We can also respond to legal requests when we have a good-faith belief that the response is required by law in that jurisdiction, affects users in that jurisdiction, and is consistent with internationally recognized standards.
When we have a good-faith belief it is necessary to: detect, prevent and address fraud, unauthorized use of the Products, violations of our terms or policies, or other harmful or illegal activity; to protect ourselves (including our rights, property or Products), you or others, including as part of investigations or regulatory inquiries; or to prevent death or imminent bodily harm. For example, if relevant, we provide information to and receive information from third-party partners about the reliability of your account to prevent fraud, abuse and other harmful activity on and off our Products.
Information we receive about you (including financial transaction data related to purchases made with Minerva) can be accessed and preserved for an extended period when it is the subject of a legal request or obligation, governmental investigation, or investigations of possible violations of our terms or policies, or otherwise to prevent harm. We also retain information from accounts disabled for terms violations for at least a year to prevent repeat abuse or other term violations.
We'll notify you before we make changes to this policy and give you the opportunity to review the revised policy before you choose to continue using our Products.