PRIVACY POLICY
DevOps Institute Inc. (“DevOps Institute”, “we”, or “us”) is a member-based community that also delivers courseware, content, testing and certification services. Our member community also provides opportunities for members to engage via forums, job boards, live and virtual events.
DevOps Institute is committed to protecting your privacy and personal information so that you have the most powerful yet safe experience with us. This “Privacy Policy” describes the privacy policies of DevOps Institute and applies to the DevOps Institute’s website, member portal, SKILup IT Learning, Assessment services, job board, event registrations, testing services, courseware distribution and other interactions you have with DevOps Institute involving data collection and usage (collectively, the “Services”).
Personal information
Personal information is information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person. An identifiable natural person is one who can be identified, directly or indirectly, by reference to an identifier such as a name, email, an identification number, location data, or an online identifier.
We do not consider personal information to include information that has been anonymized or aggregated so that it can no longer be used to identify a specific natural person, whether in combination with other information or otherwise.
We collect personal information from you and any devices you use when you: use our Services, register for an account or certification examination with us, provide us information on a web form, update or add information to your account, participate in a community board discussion, or when you otherwise correspond with us.
Some of this personal information, such as a way to identify you, is necessary in order to provide you with particular products and services such as courseware, certification services, online learning, event/survey participation and member benefits. The provision of all other personal information is voluntary, but may be necessary in order to use our Services, such as tracking the certifications you have received.
Certification Services
DevOps Institute provides testing and certification services as a certification authority. We may collect your personal information (including name, address, email address, phone number, and other information you provide to us) to confirm your identity, deliver examinations and ensure the integrity of the certification process. As part of our certification services, we create additional personal data, including results of your examination sessions, your certificates and digital badges.
We may also use your personal data for internal research to improve our Services, examination development, or quality control purposes. Extracts from examination sessions in anonymized form may be reproduced in published exam preparation material such as examination performance statistics.
Some of our certification services are offered to you in cooperation with or through other organizations such as accredited Education Partners, courseware fulfillment platforms and/or testing platforms. We may exchange your personal data with these partners and suppliers to the extent necessary to provide you with training and certification services. We require partners and suppliers to comply with applicable data protection laws, but we are not directly responsible for their privacy practices. For information on those privacy practices, please refer to the privacy policies of the Education Partners, testing platforms and courseware fulfillment platforms who provide you with training, course content and certification services.
Personal information collected from Education Partners
Global Education Partners are training, consulting, educational or tool provider organizations that have entered into a separate agreement (the “Education Partner Agreement”) with DevOps Institute to deliver accredited course content for the purposes of education, training and/or certification services. Education Partners may provide certain personal information to DevOps Institute necessary to enable you to receive courseware, take an exam, receive a certificate/digital badge or to access the website as a community member. Education Partners control their customer accounts and any associated data they provide to DevOps Institute about you, some of which may have come to them from your employer. If you have any questions about specific privacy practices of your Education Partner, please review the Education Partner’s privacy policy and contact the training provider or employer with which you are affiliated.
You may receive electronic communications from DevOps Institute’s courseware fulfillment provider if you register for a class with one of our Education Partners. Your Education Partner and DevOps Institute’s courseware fulfillment partner only collect the minimum information (name, email address) in order to provide you with voucher codes for courseware and examinations. To learn more about what information our courseware fulfillment partners and Education Partners collect please review their privacy policies.
DevOps Institute maintains a registry of individuals who have been certified on DevOps Institute certification products that includes your personal information. We do this in order to provide you with a history or evidence of your certifications, or to demonstrate proof of a prerequisite for other training. The registry is not available in the public domain and you may request us to delete your registry account. We will not provide information about your certifications to anyone without your express permission.
Online Testing Account
All DevOps Institute examination candidates must register with our testing platform in order to register for a certification examination. Registration will establish an account with DevOps Institute’ testing platform and you will be asked to voluntarily provide personal information, such as your name and email address, that we need to deliver certifications and to keep a record of your results.
DevOps Institute Community Membership
DevOps Institute maintains an open, voluntary and lively online community. You may become a member of the DevOps Institute community in several possible ways:
- Voluntarily choosing to become a member of the DevOps Institute by completing an online form
- Voluntarily participating in a DevOps Institute event or signing up at an industry event
- Enrolled when you successfully achieve one or more DevOps Institute’s certification or participate in one or more events or research projects
As a member of DevOps Institute, you voluntarily provide to us personal information that you may choose to share with other members of the DevOps Institute community through your public profile, participation in forums, surveys, forms and/or other interactive events. You may also receive communications such as emails and newsletters as part of your membership. You control which information you choose to share or receive as a member of the DevOps Institute through your account settings. We do not control how other members or third parties use any personal information that you make available to such users or the public.
Company Communications
DevOps Institute may occasionally use your name and email address to send you notifications regarding new services that we think you may find valuable. We may also send you service-related announcements from time to time through the general operation of the website. Generally, you may opt out of such emails at the time of registration or through your account settings, though we reserve the right to send you notices about your account and other non-marketing related notices, such as service announcements and administrative messages, even if you opt out of all voluntary email notifications.
Unless users opt-out from receiving marketing materials upon registration, DevOps Institute may email users about products and services that DevOps Institute believes may be of interest. If you wish to opt-out of receiving marketing materials from DevOps Institute after you have registered an account with us, you may do so by following the unsubscribe link in the email communications, by going to your account settings (if applicable) or contacting us using the contact information below.
How We Use Your personal information as a Member of the DevOps Institute Community
DevOps Institute collects and uses your personal information to operate the DevOps Institute website and deliver the services you have requested. DevOps Institute also uses your personal information to inform you of other products or services available from DevOps Institute and its affiliates. DevOps Institute may also contact you via surveys to conduct research about your opinion of current Services or of potential new services that may be offered.
Education Partners and DevOps Institute sponsors may have limited access to your personal information if you participate in certain events. DevOps Institute may, from time to time, contact you on behalf of external business partners about a particular offering that may be of interest to you. You may opt-out of receiving such communications by going to your account settings (if applicable) or contacting us using the contact information below. If you do not opt-out , your personal information (e.g. e-mail, name) is not transferred to the third party unless you choose to provide it. In addition, DevOps Institute may share personal information with trusted partners to help us provide our Services, perform statistical analysis, send you email or postal mail, provide customer support, or arrange for deliveries. All such third parties may use your personal information only as directed by DevOps Institute and are prohibited from using your personal information except to provide these services to DevOps Institute in accordance with this Privacy Policy, and they are required to maintain the confidentiality of your personal information.
DevOps Institute analyzes use of our website, webpages, and services, to improve our Services and to deliver customized content within DevOps Institute to users whose behavior indicates that they are interested in a particular subject area.
In the event DevOps Institute engages in a merger, acquisition, bankruptcy, dissolution, reorganization, sale of some or all of the stock, financing, or a similar transaction, DevOps Institute may share or transfer your personal information.
DevOps Institute may use and disclose your personal information, if required to do so by law or in the good faith belief that such action is necessary to: (a) conform to the edicts of the law or comply with legal process served on DevOps Institute; (b) protect and defend the rights or property of DevOps Institute; (c) protect your or others’ rights, privacy, and property (including by making and defending legal claims); (d) act under exigent circumstances to protect the personal safety of users of DevOps Institute, or the public; (e) enforce the terms and conditions that govern use of DevOps Institute Services; and (f) protect, investigate and deter against fraudulent, harmful, unauthorized, unethical or illegal activity.
In some cases, DevOps Institute may specifically ask for your consent to collect, use or share your personal information, such as when required by law.
DevOps Institute may create anonymous, aggregated or de-identified data from your personal information and other individuals whose personal information we collect. We make personal information into anonymous, aggregated or de-identified data by removing information that makes the data personally identifiable to you. We may use this anonymous, aggregated or de-identified data and share it with third parties for our lawful business purposes, including to analyze and improve our Services and promote our business.
Use of Personal Information Received from EU Data Subjects
When DevOps Institute acts as data controller or processor, DevOps Institute adheres to the GDPR and other principles described in this Policy with respect to the personal data DevOps Institute collects from EU data subjects which includes data used to establish user accounts, certifications, and otherwise provide the Services.
Your Options for Limiting the Use and Disclosure of Your Personal Information
We respect your right to access, correct, request deletion or request restriction of our usage of your personal information as required by applicable law. We also take steps to ensure that the personal information we collect is accurate and up to date.
You may at any time review or change your personal information by going to your account settings on either DevOps Institute’s member portal and/or testing platform or by contacting us using the contact information below. You also have the right to object to our processing of your personal information or to have us delete or restrict how we use your personal information, but this right is determined by applicable law and will impact your access to the website.
In the event you ask us to delete your account, we will delete your account and contact information from our active databases. Such personal information will be deactivated or deleted as soon as practicable based on your account activity and in accordance with our deactivation policy and applicable law. To make this request, either go to your account settings (if applicable) or contact us as provided below.
We will retain in our files some personal information to prevent fraud, to troubleshoot problems, to assist with any investigations, to enforce our Terms of Use and to comply with legal requirements as is permitted by law. If your account is deactivated, all personal information will be removed and your access to the Services will be impacted.
Targeted Online Advertising
Some business partners that collect information about users’ activities on or through the Services may be members of organizations or programs that provide choices to individuals regarding the use of their browsing behavior for purposes of targeted advertising.
Users may opt out of receiving targeted advertising on websites through members of the Network Advertising Initiative or the Digital Advertising Alliance. Please note that we also may work with companies that offer their own opt-out mechanisms and may not participate in the opt-out mechanisms.
In addition, your mobile device settings may provide functionality to limit our, or our partners’, ability to engage in ad tracking or targeted advertising using the Google Advertising ID or Apple ID for Advertising associated with your mobile device.
If you choose to opt-out of targeted advertisements, you will still see advertisements online but they may not be relevant to you. Even if you do choose to opt out, not all companies that serve online behavioral advertising are included in this list, so you may still receive some cookies and tailored advertisements from companies that are not listed.
Do Not Track
Some Internet browsers may be configured to send “Do Not Track” signals to the online services that you visit. We currently do not respond to “Do Not Track” or similar signals. To find out more about “Do Not Track,” please visit https://www.allaboutdnt.com.
Use of Cookies and Other Information Collected by Automated Means
DevOps Institute, and our service providers, may automatically log information about you, your computer or mobile device, and activity occurring on or through our Services, including but not limited, your computer or mobile device operating system type and version number, manufacturer and model, device identifier (such as the Google Advertising ID or Apple ID for Advertising), browser type, screen resolution, IP address, the website you visited before visiting our website, general location information such as city, state, or geographic area; information about your use of and actions on our Services, such as pages or screens you viewed, how long you spent on a page or screen, navigation paths between pages or screens, information about your activity on a page or screen, access times, and length of access; and other personal information. Our service providers and business partners may collect this type of information over time and across third-party websites and mobile applications.
On our website, this information is collected using cookies, browser web storage (also known as locally stored objects, or “LSOs”), web beacons, and similar technologies, and our emails may also contain web beacons.
A “cookie” is a text file that websites send to a visitor’s computer or other Internet-connected device to uniquely identify the visitor’s browser or to store information or settings in the browser. Browser web storage, or LSOs, are used for similar purposes as cookies. Browser web storage enables the storage of a larger amount of data than cookies. A “web beacon,” also known as a pixel tag or clear GIF, is typically used to demonstrate that a webpage was accessed or that certain content was viewed, typically to measure the success of our marketing campaigns or engagement with our emails and to compile statistics about usage of our websites.
One of the primary purposes of cookies is to provide a convenience feature to save you time. The purpose of a cookie is to tell DevOps Institute’s that you have returned to a specific page. For example, if you personalize DevOps Institute pages, or register with the website, a cookie helps DevOps Institute to recall your specific information on subsequent visits. This simplifies the process of recording your personal information, such as billing addresses, shipping addresses, and so on. When you return to the website, the information you previously provided can be retrieved, so you can easily use the DevOps Institute features that you customized.
Web browsers may offer users of our websites the ability to disable receiving certain types of cookies; however, if cookies are disabled, some features or functionality of our website may not function correctly. Please see the “Targeted online advertising” section for information about how to exercise choice regarding the use of browsing behavior for purposes of targeted advertising.
Other Sites, Mobile Applications and Services
The DevOps Institute website may contain links to other websites, mobile applications, and online services operated by third parties. These links are not an endorsement of, or representation that we are affiliated with, any third party. In addition, our content may be included on web pages or in mobile applications or online services that are not associated with us. We do not control third party websites, mobile applications, or online services, and we are not responsible for their actions. Other websites, mobile applications and services follow different rules regarding the collection, use and sharing of your personal information. We encourage you to read the privacy policies of the other websites, mobile applications, and online services you use.
How We Protect Your Personal Information
DevOps Institute secures your personal information from unauthorized access, use or disclosure. DevOps Institute secures personal information on computer servers in a controlled, secure environment, protected from unauthorized access, use or disclosure. When personal information is transmitted to other sites, it is protected through the use of encryption, such as the Secure Socket Layer (SSL) protocol.
We take the security of your personal information seriously and use reasonable electronic, personnel and physical measures to protect it from loss, theft, alteration or misuse. However, please be advised that even the best security measures cannot fully eliminate all risks. We cannot guarantee the security of your personal information or that only authorized persons will view your information.
We are dedicated to protecting all information on the website as is necessary. However, you are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your personal information by keeping your password confidential. You should change your password immediately if you believe someone has gained unauthorized access to it or your account. If you lose control of your account, you should notify us immediately.
Data Retention
We will retain your personal information for as long as needed or permitted in light of the purposes for which it was obtained. The criteria used to determine our retention periods include the length of time we have an going relationship with you and provide our Services to you, the amount, nature, and sensitivity of the personal information, the potential risk of harm from unauthorized use or disclosure of your personal information, and our legal obligations or whether retention is advisable in light of our legal position (such as in regard to applicable statutes of limitations, litigation or regulatory investigations). When we no longer require the personal information we have collected about you, we will either delete or anonymize it or, if this is not possible (for example, because your personal information has been stored in backup archives), then we will securely store your personal information and isolate it from any further processing until deletion is possible. If we anonymize your personal information (so that it can no longer be associated with you), we may use this information for any legal purpose indefinitely without further notice to you.
Age Limitations
The Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (“COPPA”) protects the online privacy of children under 13 years of age. We do not knowingly collect or maintain personal Information from anyone under the age of 13, unless or except as permitted by law. Any person who provides personally identifying Information through the website represents to us that he or she is 13 years of age or older. If we learn that personal information has been collected from a user under 13 years of age on or through the website, then we will take the appropriate steps to cause this information to be deleted. If you are the parent or legal guardian of a child under 13 who has become a member of our Services or has otherwise transferred personal information to DevOps Institute website, please contact us using our contact information below to have that child’s account terminated and information deleted.
International Data Transfers
DevOps Institute is based in the United States including our servers. DevOps Institute will transfer and retain your personal information on our servers in the U.S. and elsewhere in the world where our data centers are located.
Notice to European Users
The information provided in this “Notice to European Users” section of the Privacy Policy only applies to individuals in Europe.
Use of Personal Information Received from EU Data Subjects
DevOps Institute acts as the data “controller” of your personal information covered by this Privacy Policy for purposes of European data protection laws. DevOps Institute is also the “processor” of your personal information, for purposes of European data protection laws, when we receive your personal information from our partners and other entities such as your employer. DevOps Institute only uses your personal information as permitted by law, and DevOps Institute adheres to the General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”) and other principles described in this Privacy Policy with respect to the personal information DevOps Institute collects, which includes data used to establish user accounts, certifications, and otherwise provide the our Services. In the event DevOps Institute uses any other individual or entity to process personal information, DevOps Institute will ensure such individuals or entities have appropriate technical and organizational measure in place to meet applicable requirements and regulations for processing personal information to ensure the protection of your personal information, including entering all appropriate data processing addendums with such third parties. References to “personal information” in this Privacy Policy are equivalent to “personal data” governed by European data protection laws.
Data Protection Authority
JAMS has been appointed as DevOps Institute’s representative in the European Union and Switzerland for data protection matters for end users from countries within the European Union and Switzerland pursuant to Article 27 of the General Data Protection Regulation of the European Union. JAMS can be contacted in addition to [email protected] only on matters related to the processing of personal information. To make such an inquiry, please go to https://www.jamsadr.com/file-an-eu-us-privacy-shield-claim
Changes to this Privacy Policy
DevOps Institute reserves the right to modify this Privacy Policy at any time. If DevOps Institute makes material changes to this Privacy Policy, DevOps Institute will notify you by updating the date of this Privacy Policy and posting it on our website. DevOpsInstitute may, and if required by law will, also provide notification of changes in another way that DevOps Institute believes is reasonably likely to reach you, such as via e-mail (if you have an account where we have your contact information) or another manner through our Services.
Any modifications to this Privacy Policy will be effective upon our posting the new terms and/or upon implementation of the new changes on the website (or as otherwise indicated at the time of posting). In all cases, your continued use of the Services after the posting of any modified Privacy Policy indicates your acceptance of the terms of the modified Privacy Policy.
Contacting DevOps Institute
Please contact DevOps Institute at [email protected] if you have any questions about this Privacy Policy.
Information for California Residents
If you are a California resident, you have the following rights:
Information. To request that we disclose the following information about our collection and use of your personal information during the past 12 months:
- The categories of personal information that we have collected about you;
- The categories of sources from which personal information is collected;
- The business or commercial purpose for collecting or selling personal information;
- The categories of third parties with whom we share your personal information;
- Whether we have disclosed your personal information for a business purpose, and if so, the categories of personal information received by each category of recipient; and
- Whether we have sold your personal information, and, if so, the categories of personal information received by each category of recipient.
Access. To request a copy of the personal information that we have collected about you during the past 12 months.
Deletion. To request that we delete personal information about you that we have collected from you.
Opt out of sales. To direct us not to sell your personal information if we do, and if you are under 16 years of age, we are required to ask for affirmative authorization from you (or it you are under 13, your parent or guardian) to sell your personal information before we do so.
Nondiscrimination. To exercise your rights described above free from discrimination, such as denial of goods or services; price/rate increases for goods or services (including through grants of discounts/benefits or imposing penalties); decreases in service quality; or suggesting that such discriminatory acts may occur if you exercise your rights. However, a difference in price or service quality is not discriminatory if reasonably related to the value to our business of the personal information we are unable to use due to the exercise of your rights, and we may offer you certain financial incentives that can result in different prices, rates or service quality.
Financial incentive program disclosures. Receive a clear description of the material terms of any program involving financial incentives for the collection, sale or deletion of your personal information, and decide if you want to consent to be entered in it (you can revoke this consent at any time).
How to exercise your rights
You may exercise the rights described above as follows:
Right to opt out of sales
You may exercise your right to opt out of sales of your personal information by submitting a verifiable request to us by:
- emailing [email protected]
Right to information, access and deletion
You may exercise the information, access and deletion rights described above by submitting a verifiable request to us by:
- visiting https://www.devopsinstitute.com/contact/
- emailing [email protected]
Only you, or a person registered with the California Secretary of State that you authorize to act on your behalf, may make a verifiable request related to your personal information. You may also make a verifiable consumer request on behalf of your minor child under 13.
The verifiable request must:
- Provide sufficient information that allows us to reasonably verify you are a California resident about whom we collected personal information or their authorized representative; and
- Describe your request with sufficient detail that allows us to properly understand, evaluate, and respond to it.
These rights are not absolute, are subject to exceptions, and we may be required or permitted by law to decline your request.
Personal information that we collect, use and share
The chart below provides information that we are required to give you under California law about the categories of personal information that we have collected, used and shared in the 12 months preceding the last update of this Privacy Policy. See our Privacy Policy for a description of the sources of the personal information we collect, as well as the business and commercial purposes for which we collect, use and share this information.
Category* | Do we collect this info? | Do we share this info with third parties for business purposes?** | Do we “sell” this info?*** |
Identifiers | Yes | Yes | No |
Online identifiers | Yes | Yes | No |
CA Customer Records Categories | Yes | Yes | No |
Protected Classification Characteristics | No | No | No |
Commercial Information | Yes | Yes | No |
Biometric Information | No | No | No |
Internet or Network Information | Yes | Yes | No |
Geolocation Data | No | No | No |
Sensory Information | No | No | No |
Professional or Employment Information | Yes | Yes | No |
Education Information | No | No | No |
Inferences | Yes | Yes | No |
Other Personal Information | Yes | Yes | No |
*For a description of these categories, see the definition of Personal Information in Section 1798.140(o)(1) of the California Consumer Privacy Act.
** See the section of our Privacy Policy for a description of the business purposes for which we disclose your personal information and to the third parties to which we disclose it.
*** Our use of your personal information in a manner that constitutes a “sale” under California law is for analytics, marketing and advertising purposes. |
In addition to these rights, as provided by California Civil Code section 1798.83, California residents are entitled to ask us for a notice identifying the categories of personal customer information which we share with our affiliates and/or third parties for marketing purposes and providing contact information for such affiliates and/or third parties. If you are a California resident and would like a copy of this notice, please submit a written request to us via email at [email protected]. You must put the statement “Your California Privacy Rights” in your request and include your name, street address, city, state, and ZIP code. We are not responsible for notices that are not labeled or sent properly, or do not have complete information.