ODTUG Privacy Policy



ODTUG is very aware of our members’ needs for security and privacy. To that end the following document describes how ODTUG (“we” or “us”) process information about you (“personally identifiable information”) and your organization through www.odtug.com and all other ODTUG websites that link to the policy. For the purposes of this policy, personally identifiable information is defined as information, or a combination of pieces of information, that could reasonably allow you to be identified.

In our privacy statement we will outline:

  1. What personally identifiable information ODTUG and its service providers collect.
  2. How ODTUG uses personally identifiable information.
  3. With whom ODTUG may share users’ personally identifiable information.
  4. What choices are available to users regarding collection, use, correction, and distribution of their personally identifiable information.
  5. What types of security procedures are in place to protect the loss, misuse, or alteration of information under ODTUG’s control.

Please read the following document carefully, and if you have questions or concerns regarding this statement, you should first contact odtug@odtug.com

1. Information Collection

ODTUG is the sole owner of the information collected on ODTUG sites. ODTUG collects information from our users at several different points on our website.

Information You Provide

We and our services providers may collect information you provide directly via the website. In particular, we collect information when you register an account, sign up for membership or a subscription, or otherwise communicate or transact with us through the website. The categories of information we may collect directly from you include the following:

  • Personal details (e.g., name and other demographic information)
  •  Contact details (e.g., email address, postal address, telephone number, fax number)
  •  Information about your employment (e.g., job title, company)
  •  Account details (e.g., username, password)
  •  Transaction details (e.g., when you purchase membership, or registrations)
  •  Communications (e.g., when you contact us)
  •  Payment information (e.g., credit card information)

We may be required by law to collect certain personal information about you or as a consequence of the contractual relationship we have with you when you register on the website, become a member, subscribe to our journal or other publication, or otherwise agree to our terms of service. Failure to provide this information may prevent or delay the fulfillment of these obligations.

Information We Collect About Your Use of The Website

We and our services providers may automatically collect certain information associated with when you access or use the website (“Usage Information”). Usage information may or may not be personally identifiable information. Usage information may include: 

  • Technical information collected from your computer or mobile device (e.g., your IP address, browser type, Internet service provider, operating system); and
  • Information about your usage of our website (e.g. the pages you visit when using the website, what you click on the website, the search terms you enter on the website, how often you use the website, and the pages you access before and after accessing the website)

Where required by applicable law, and in particular where Usage Information is not strictly necessary for us to provide you with any part of the services you have specifically requested, we may obtain your consent for the use for certain of these automatic collection technologies.

The methods that may be used on the website to collect Usage Information include:

  • Cookies
    A cookie is a piece of data stored on the user's computer tied to information about the user. We generally only use session ID cookies. For the session ID cookie, once users close the browser, the cookie simply terminates.
  • Log Files
    Like most standard website servers, we use log files. This includes internet protocol (IP) addresses, browser type, internet service provider (ISP), referring/exit pages, platform type, date/time stamp, and number of clicks to analyze trends, administer the site, track user's movement in the aggregate, and gather broad demographic information for aggregate use. IP addresses, etc. are not usually linked to other personally identifiable information, and are never given to third parties. Aggregate information may be used by ODTUG to provide vendor partners with more detailed information on our clients’ usage, and for ODTUG to enhance our services.

2. Information Use

We may use your personally identifiable information for the following purposes:

  • Identification and authentication: We use your identification information to verify your identity when you access and use the website and to ensure the security of your personal information. This is so we can comply with our contractual obligations to you.
  • Operating our services: We process your personally identifiable information to provide services, such as our membership dues reminders. This is so we can comply with our contractual obligations to you.
  • Communicating with you: We may use your personally identifiable information when we communicate with you, for example if we are providing information about changes to the terms and conditions or if you contact us with questions. It is in our legitimate interests that we can provide you with appropriate responses and provide you with notices about the website.
  • Improving our services: We analyze information about how you use the website to provide an improved experience for our members. It is in our legitimate business interests to use the information provided to us for this purpose, so we can understand any issues with our website and improve them.
  • Exercising our rights: We may use your personally identifiable information to exercise our legal rights where it is necessary to do so, for example to detect, prevent, and respond to fraud claims, intellectual property infringement claims, or violations of law or our Terms of Service.
  • Complying with our obligations: We may process your personally identifiable information to, for example, carry out fraud prevention checks or comply with other legal or regulatory requirements, where this is explicitly required by law.
  • Customizing your experience: When you use the website, we may use your personally identifiable information to improve your experience of the website, such as by creating a user profile based on your viewing preferences, and providing interactive or personalized elements on the website and providing you with content based on your interests. It is in our legitimate interests to provide our members and users with information that is relevant to them.

We may also anonymize your personal information in such a way that you may not reasonably be re-identified by us or any other company, and may use this anonymized information for any other purpose.

3. Communications from the Site

  • Vendor/Sponsor Mailings
    While vendors/sponsors are never given opt out email addresses, they may request us to send occasional emails to our membership, which we may do, consistent with applicable laws. You, as a user, have a right to opt out of receiving these emails by using the unsubscribe option included with your email. Selecting ‘I decline to share my contact information,’ found in your profile and on the conference registration form, in the question regarding sharing your information with ODTUG Kscope vendors/sponsors, will prevent your contact information from being shared with ODTUG Kscope vendors/sponsors. Alternately, you may send an email to odtug@odtug.com and a support representative will handle your request promptly. ODTUG Kscope Vendors/Sponsors will receive a list of the delegates who opt-in to sharing their information.
  • Service Announcements
    We send all new members a welcoming email to verify password and username. Members will also receive emails when membership is expiring. On other occasions it is necessary to send out a strictly service-related announcement. For instance, if our service is suspended for maintenance, we might send users an email. Generally, users may not opt-out of these communications, though they can deactivate their account. These communications are not promotional in nature.
  • Customer Service
    We communicate with users regularly to provide requested services. Regarding issues relating to their account we reply via email or phone, in accordance with the user’s wishes.
  • ODTUG E-news and Conference Updates
    You may opt out of receiving by unsubscribing or selecting ‘I do not want to receive ODTUG news via email’ located in your membership profile. 

4. Disclosures
We may disclosure your personally identifiable information in the following circumstances:

  • Service providers and business partners: we may share your personal information with our service providers and business partners that perform business operations for us for the purposes set forth above. For example, we may share members’ names, contact details, and email addresses with a third-party organization for the purpose of printing badges for a conference. Service providers will only use your personally identifiable information consistent with this policy.   
  • Where required by law: we may share your personally identifiable information with law enforcement agencies, courts, other government authorities, or other third parties where we believe necessary to comply with a legal or regulatory obligation, or otherwise to protect our rights or the rights of any third party.
  • For purposes disclosed at the time you provide personally identifiable information.
  • Otherwise with your consent or at your direction.
  • Aggregate Information (non-personally identifiable): we share aggregated demographic information with our partners. As shared, this is not linked to any personally identifiable information. 

5. Third-Party Services

  •  Links
    The website contains links to other third-party websites. Please be aware that we are not responsible for the privacy practices of such other sites. We encourage our users to be aware when they leave our site and to read the privacy statements of every website that collects personally identifiable information. This privacy statement applies solely to information collected by this website.

6. Public Information

  • User and Group Information
    Other members of ODTUG may view information you provide about yourself and your organization. This information includes such items as your email address and other information you provide. At any time, you may edit your visibility settings found on “My Page.”
  • Polls and Surveys
    During your use of this website, you may wish to participate in Polls and Surveys that are taken from time to time. The purpose of these, and what will be disclosed from polls and surveys, will be communicated as part of the poll or survey. Participation in these areas is optional, and it is encouraged that you never provide any sensitive or private information in this area.
  • Blogs and Other Site Features
    During your use of this website, you may wish to participate in our blogs and other features developed over time. Any information you provide within these areas may be viewed by other members of ODTUG. It is encouraged that you never provide any sensitive or private information in this area.

7. Visiting Our Website from Outside the United States

If you are visiting our website from outside the United States, please be aware that your information may be transferred to, stored, and processed in the United States where our servers are located and our central database is operated. The data protection and other laws of the United States and other countries might not be as comprehensive as those in your country. By using our website, you understand that your information may be transferred to our facilities and those third parties with whom we share it as described in this Privacy Policy.

If you are located in the European Economic Area, please note that we have put in place appropriate safeguards (such as contractual commitments) in accordance with applicable legal requirements to provide adequate protections for your personally identifiable information.

8. Security and Data Retention

We take reasonable physical, technical, and organizational security measures to help safeguard your personally identifiable information from loss, theft, misuse, and unauthorized access and disclosure. However, no system can be completely secure. Therefore, we do not promise, and you should not expect, that your personally identifiable information, searches, or other communications will always remain secure.

9. Correcting/Updating/Deleting/Deactivating Personal Information

If a user's personally identifiable information changes (such as name, phone, or email), or if a user no longer desires our service, we provide a way to correct, update or delete/deactivate users' personally identifiable information. This can usually be done on your profile or by emailing our customer support at info@odtug.com. Or, contact us via contact information listed below. 

10. EU Residents

If you are a resident of the European Union, you have certain rights regarding the personal information we hold about you, subject to local law. These may include the rights to access, correct, delete, restrict or object to our use of, or receive a portable copy in a usable electronic format of your personal information. You also may have a right to lodge a complaint with your local data protection or privacy regulator.

We encourage you to contact us at the contact information set forth below to update or correct your information if it changes or if the personal information we hold about you is inaccurate. Where you have provided your consent to any use of your personal information, you can withdraw this consent at any time.

Please note that we may require additional information from to honor your requests. If you would like to discuss or exercise any rights you may have under law, please contact us at the contact information set forth below.

11. Notification of Changes

If we change our Privacy Policy, we will post those changes to this privacy statement, the homepage, and other places we deem appropriate so our users are always aware of what information we collect, how we use it, and under what circumstances, if any, we disclose it. We will use information in accordance with the Privacy Policy under which the information was collected. 

If, however, we are going to use users' personally identifiable information in a manner different from that stated at the time of collection, we will notify users via email. Users will choose whether we use their information in this different manner. However, if users have opted out of all communication with the site, or deleted/deactivated their account, then they will not be contacted, nor will their personal information be used in this new manner. In addition, if we make any material changes in our privacy practices that do not affect user information already stored in our database, we will post a prominent notice on our website informing users of the change. In some cases where we post a notice, we will also email users who have opted to receive communications from us, notifying them of the changes in our privacy practices.

12. Contact Information

If users have any questions or suggestions regarding our Privacy Policy, please contact us at:


Email: odtug@odtug.com