Personal Information Protection Policy

This Gigaphoton privacy statement describes the types of information that Gigaphoton Inc. and other Gigaphoton affiliates ("Company," or "We") may collect from you or that you may provide when you visit the websites or mobile applications where this privacy statement is posted. (collectively the "Websites"). This privacy statement includes our practices for collecting, using, maintaining, protecting and disclosing that information.

This statement applies to information we collect:

  • On our Websites, including but not limited to when you submit an inquiry, post information, or apply for employment
  • In e-mail, text and other electronic messages between you and our Websites
  • Through mobile and desktop applications, if available, you download from our Websites or mobile application stores, which provide dedicated non-browser-based interaction between you and our Websites
  • When you interact with our advertising and applications on third-party websites and services, if those applications or advertising include links to this statement

It does not apply to information collected by:

  • us offline or through any other means, including on any and all websites that are not operated or controlled by the Company or our affiliates
  • any third party (including, for example, LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube, etc. ), including through any application or content (including advertising) that may link to or be accessible from or on the Websites

Please read this statement carefully to understand our policies and practices regarding your information and how we will treat it. If you do not agree with our policies and practices, do not use our Websites or provide information to the Company. By accessing or using our Websites, you agree to this privacy statement. This statement may change from time to time. Your continued use of our Websites after we make changes is deemed to be acceptance of those changes, so please check the statement periodically for updates. As noted in our Terms of Use Agreement, the Company is headquartered in the Japan. We make no representation that we will comply any privacy laws other than the laws of Japan. If you expect the laws of any country other than Japan to apply, you should not provide us information or use our Websites.

Information we collect about you and how we collect it

We collect several types of information from and about users of our Websites, including information:

  • by which you may be personally identified, including but not limited to name, postal address, e-mail address, telephone number, and personal history ("personal.")
  • about your work-related activities, such as your job title or work email address
  • about your Internet address and/or connection, the equipment you use to access our Websites and usage details

We collect this information:

  • directly from you when you provide it to us.
  • automatically as you navigate through the site. Information collected automatically may include usage details, IP addresses, and information collected through cookies, web beacons, and other tracking technologies.

Information you provide to us

The information we collect on or through our Websites may include:

  • Information that you provide by filling in forms on our Websites. This includes information provided at the time, as applicable, of registering to use restricted sections of our Websites, subscribing to our services, posting material, initiating a business transaction, reviewing our online information, or requesting services. We may also ask you for information when you choose to enter a promotion sponsored by us, and when you report any isues.
  • Records and copies of your correspondence (including e-mail addresses).
  • Your search queries on the Websites.

We use Google Analytics (or similar tools) to help us better serve our customers through improved products, services, and revisions to the mobile applications. This collected information does not identify you to the Company. It may, however, let us know anonymously which services and features you are using most within the application, as well as device type and hardware features, country, and language of downloads.

You also may provide information to be published or displayed (hereinafter, "posted") on public areas of the Websites, or transmitted to other users of the Websites or third parties (collectively, "User Contributions"). Your User Contributions are posted on and transmitted to others at your own risk. Please be aware that no security measures are perfect or impenetrable. Additionally, we cannot control the actions of other users of the Websites with whom you may choose to share your User Contributions. Therefore, we cannot and do not guarantee that your User Contributions will not be viewed by unauthorized persons.

Usage details, IP addresses, cookies, and other technologies

As you navigate through and interact with our Websites, we may automatically collect certain information about your equipment, browsing actions, and patterns, including:

  • Details of your visits to our Websites, including traffic data, location data, logs, and other communication data and the resources that you access and use on the Websites.
  • Information about your computer and Internet connection, including your IP address, operating system, and browser type.

The navigation information we collect helps us, among other things, to improve our Websites and to deliver a better and more personalized service by enabling us to:

  • Estimate our audience size and usage patterns.
  • Store information about your preferences, allowing us to better structure our Websites fit our visitors' interests.
  • Optimize your searches.
  • Recognize you when you return to our Websites.

The technologies we use for this automatic data collection include cookies, further information can be found in our Cookie Policy, and Web Beacons. Web Beacons may be included on pages of our Websites and our e-mails and may contain small electronic files known as web beacons (also referred to as clear gifs, pixel tags, and single-pixel gifs) that permit the Company, for example, to count users who have visited those pages or opened an e-mail and for other related website statistics (for example, recording the popularity of certain website content and verifying system and server integrity.)

Third-party advertiser use of cookies and other tracking technologies

Some advertisements on the Websites may be served by third-party advertisers, ad networks, and ad servers. These third parties may use cookies alone or in conjunction with other tracking technologies to collect information about our users. This may include information about users' behavior on this and other websites to serve them interest-based (behavioral) advertising. We do not control these third parties' tracking technologies or how they may be used. If you have any questions about an advertisement, you should contact the responsible advertiser directly.

How we use your information

We may use information that we collect about you or that you provide to us, including any personal information:

  • To present our Websites and their contents to you
  • To provide you with information, products, or services that you request from us
  • To fulfill business transactions initiated by you and for any other purpose for which you provide your information
  • To notify you about changes to our Websites or any products or services we offer or provide though it
  • To allow you to participate in interactive features on our Websites
  • In any other way we may describe when you provide the information
  • As otherwise permitted by law

Consent

Ordinarily we ask for consent to collect, use or disclose personal information, except in specific circumstances where collection, use or disclosure without consent is authorized or required by law. We may assume your consent in cases where you volunteer information for an obvious purpose (such as applying for a position or purchasing equipment from us).

You may withdraw consent to the use and disclosure of personal information at any time, unless the personal information is necessary for us to fulfil our reasonable business or legal obligations. We will respect your decision, but we may not be able to provide you with certain services if we do not have the necessary personal information.

The purpose for collecting personal information is set out in this policy.

We ask for your express consent for some purposes and may not be able to provide certain services if you are unwilling to provide consent to the collection, use or disclosure of certain personal information. Where express consent is needed, we may ask you to provide consent orally (in person, by telephone), in writing (by signing a consent form), or electronically (by clicking a button).

In cases that do not involve sensitive personal information, we may rely on “opt-in” consent.

Disclosure of your information

We may disclose aggregated information about our users, and information that does not identify any individual, without restriction. We may disclose information, including personal information, that we collect or you provide as described in this privacy statement:

  • To our subsidiaries and other affiliates
  • To contractors, service providers
  • To a buyer or other successor in the event of a merger, divestiture, restructuring, reorganization, dissolution, or other sale or transfer of some or all of the Company's or our affiliates’ assets, whether as a going concern or as part of bankruptcy, liquidation, or similar proceeding, in which information held by the Company about our Websites users is among the assets transferred
  • To fulfill the purpose for which you provide it
  • For any other purpose disclosed by us when you provide the information
  • With your consent

We do not control third parties' collection or use of your information to serve interest-based advertising. However these third parties may provide you with ways to choose not to have your information collected or used in this way. We may also disclose your information, including personal information:

  • To comply with any court order, law or legal process, including responding to any government or regulatory request
  • To enforce or apply our terms of use and other agreements
  • If we believe disclosure is necessary or appropriate to protect the rights, property, or safety of the Company, our affiliates, our customers, or others. This includes exchanging information with other companies and organizations for the purposes of fraud protection and credit risk reduction.

Choices about how we use and disclose your information

We may provide you with choices regarding the information you provide to us. We may use mechanisms to provide you with the following control over your information:

  • Tracking Technologies and Advertising. Most browsers allow you to refuse all or some browser cookies, or to alert you when cookies are being sent. If you disable or refuse cookies, please note that some parts of this site may then be inaccessible or not function properly. We do not control third parties' collection or use of your information to serve interest-based advertising. However these third parties may provide you with ways to choose not to have your information collected or used in this way. You can opt out of receiving targeted ads from members of the Network Advertising Initiative ("NAI") on the NAI's website.

Mobile devices

What information we collect

  • We only collect personal information that you specifically share with us. For example, some of our services may ask for this type of information so that we can contact you at your request. We will not collect your personal information via any of our mobile applications for a purpose that you would not reasonably expect without providing you just-in-time notice of: 1) the categories of personal information being collected, and 2) a link to a full notice that provides further information regarding our collection.
  • If you use any location-enabled products, you may be sending us location information. We do not store or use this information other than to provide the service you requested. Location-enabled features are opt-in on your mobile device. You can have control over your participation and can turn these services off at any time.
  • Web-enabled mobile applications may use cookies or web beacons or other methods to customize your browsing experience.
  • Use of third-party services such as social sharing sites (e.g. LinkedIn and Facebook) are governed by the privacy practices of those services.

How we use collected information

  • We use the information to personalize your experience with the application and to improve your relationship with the Company through the development of new products, services, and features.
  • We use the information to provide customer support and, where applicable, register and administer your account.
  • We may use the information to contact you about updates to our service.

How we share information

We do not share any collected information with third parties, with the following exception:

  • We may provide some data to third-party partners that are providing services essential to your mobile user experience, e.g. the mobile app developer, such third parties are required by contract to protect any personal information we share with them.

Storage and security

We have implemented reasonable, but not infallible, security measures designed to secure your personal information from accidental loss and from unauthorized access, use, alteration, and disclosure. We will take appropriate measures to manage safety of the information based on the laws and regulations concerning the protection of personal information in each country and region. Any personal information provided may be encrypted using SSL technology or other technology.

Unfortunately, the transmission of information via the Internet is not completely secure. Although we take reasonable steps to protect your personal information, we cannot guarantee the security of your personal information transmitted to our Websites. Any transmission of information is at your own risk. We are not responsible for circumvention of any privacy settings or security measures contained on the Websites.

Personal information will be retained only as long as necessary and will be disposed of in a manner that is appropriate to the sensitivity of the information. We render personal information non-identifying, or destroy records containing personal information once the information is no longer needed. We use appropriate security measures when destroying personal information, including shredding paper records and permanently deleting electronic records.

Please note that we use cloud-based services that may store information in various regions including but not limited to Japan, United States, EU, U.K., Hong Kong, Korea, Singapore and Australia. Where personal information is stored or processed outside of the jurisdiction where you live, it is subject to the laws of that foreign jurisdiction, and may be accessible to that jurisdiction’s governments, courts, law enforcement, or regulatory agencies.

Changes to our privacy statement

It is our policy to post any changes we make to our privacy statement on this page with a notice that the privacy statement has been updated on the applicable Website home page.

How to contact us and update your information

If you have any questions or comments about this Privacy Statement, or you would like us to update information we have about you please submit a request to us here.