Privacy policy

Universal Companies Privacy Policy

Last Updated: December 23, 2025

If you are located within the European Union (EU) and/or European Economic Area (EEA), the following region-specific terms apply:  European Union & Switzerland

If you are a California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Oregon, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, or Virginia resident, please see the following sections of this Policy:

OUR COMMITMENT TO PRIVACY

Your privacy is important to us. To better protect your privacy, we provide this notice explaining our online and offline information practices and the choices you can make about the way your information is collected and used (collectively, the “Policy”). To make this Policy easy to find, we make it available on our homepage and at every point where personal information might be requested. Throughout this Policy, “we”, “us”, and “our” refers to Universal Companies, Inc. and its parents, subsidiaries, and its affiliated entities, and “Website” or “Site” refers to www.universalcompanies.com, including mobile versions of those sites. The “Services” refers to the applications, services, and websites (marketing and product) provided by Universal. 

Please review this Policy periodically. You should read this entire Policy before submitting information, including personal information, to us in any form or using our Site. Whenever you submit personal information to us, you consent to the collection, use, disclosure, share, transfer, and storage of that information in accordance with this Policy.
All personal information may be used for the purposes stated in this Policy. We may make full use of all information that is de-identified, aggregated, or otherwise not in personally identifiable form. We may also make full use of all user-generated content you submit to us, in accordance with our Terms of Use.

THE INFORMATION WE COLLECT

We collect personal information about you in the following ways: 1) from you when you voluntarily submit information directly to us; 2) using automated technology, including when you visit our Website or interact with our electronic advertisements or communications; and 3) using third-party sources including but not limited to our brand partners and their shopping sites, service providers, analytics providers, or through social media and other websites or services we interact with.  Automated technology collects information from your computer or mobile device and includes cookies, web beacons, local shared objects, or other similar technology.  More information is given below in the “Cookies and Other Technology” section below.

All personal information may be used for the purposes stated in this Policy.  We may combine data collected from third-party sources.  We will retain your personal information for the period necessary to fulfill that purpose and as otherwise needed to comply with applicable law and internal company policies.

Offline, we may collect information through information gathered or voluntarily given at trade shows, events, webinars, or education platforms. Our Policy applies to all information collected via any method.

We collect, use, and disclose your personal information as described in the chart in Annex 1 below. 

Personal Information

The types of personal information collected include personal identifiers, financial and commercial information, and Internet and device information, including, without limitation, your name, address, email address, phone number, user id, and credit/debit card information. This includes information you provide to create your account with us or register for accounts, events, place orders, webinars, surveys, etc. and may include, first and last name, company name, addresses, cell phone numbers for SMS messaging, billing information, a password, and a valid email address.

When you use our Services, we receive information generated through the use of the Services, either entered by you or others who use the Services with you (for example, customer data, order information, etc.), or from the Service infrastructure itself, (for example, tracking of users / visitors to the sites or other platforms provided with the Services, marketing information, etc.). We may also collect usage and log data about how the Services are accessed and used, including information about the device you are using the Services on, the operating system version, IP addresses, location information, language settings, what operating system you are using, unique device identifiers (or “UDID”), and other diagnostic data to help us support the Services and for fraud prevention and security monitoring.

We may receive information about you from other sources, including publicly available databases or third-parties from whom we have purchased data, and combine this data with information we already have about you. We may also receive information from other affiliated companies that are a part of our corporate group. This helps us to update, expand, and analyze our records, identify new prospects for marketing, and provide products and services that may be of interest to you. 

AUTOMATIC DATA COLLECTION

Universal Companies and its analytics and other service providers use technologies such as cookies, web beacons, tags, scripts and other similar technologies (collectively, “Cookies”) to collect certain information. These technologies are used to help us and our business partners analyze trends, administer the Sites, remember preferences, track users’ movements around the Sites and gather demographic information about our customer base as a whole. Some types of Cookies, like web beacons, allow us or third parties working on our behalf to gauge and enhance the effectiveness of our marketing by allowing us to understand whether users follow links in our e-mails or on our Sites, and by gathering information about other sites users visit before and after visiting our Sites. Certain other Cookies are used to store preferences on a user’s computer or mobile device, or display content based upon what a user viewed on the Site to personalize their visit. Currently, Universal Companies employs cookies and tracking technologies on its Sites, including the following:

  • Essential Cookies.  These cookies are necessary for the website to function properly. They enable basic functionalities such as page navigation, secure logins, and load balancing to ensure performance. Without these cookies, certain features of the website may not work correctly. These cookies do not track browsing behavior or store personal information.
  • Session Cookies. We employ session cookies to manage and maintain user sessions on our website. Session cookies allow us to keep track of your activities during a single browsing session, such as keeping you logged in as you navigate through different pages. This ensures a seamless and continuous experience while you explore our website. Session cookies are automatically deleted when you close your browser and do not store personal data beyond a single visit. If a user chooses to disable these cookies, the user may experience disruptions in website functionality.
  • Persistent Cookies. Our website utilizes persistent cookies to remember user preferences and settings for future visits. These cookies remain stored on your device even after you close your browser, allowing us to provide a personalized experience when you return. Persistent cookies have a set expiration date and can be removed manually through browser settings.
  • Functional (Preference) Cookies.  These cookies remember how you like to use the website and help personalize your experience. They store information such as language preferences, display settings, and login details for convenience. These cookies do not track your browsing habits across other websites and do not serve advertisements.
  • Analytics Cookies.  These cookies collect information about how users interact with the website to help improve its functionality and performance. For example, analytics cookies allow us to track most visited pages, user engagement, and potential errors. Some analytics cookies may be operated by third-party services such as Google Analytics or Microsoft Clarity. These cookies do not collect personal data for advertising purposes but may be used for aggregated reporting on website performance.
  • Advertising & Targeting Cookies. These cookies track user activity across websites to deliver personalized advertisements and measure the effectiveness of ad campaigns. They are often set by third-party advertising networks such as Google Ads, Facebook Pixel, and Microsoft Advertising. These cookies collect information about user interests, interactions with ads, and browsing behavior to provide targeted marketing. Users can manage advertising cookie preferences through their browser or the respective ad network’s settings.
  • Security Cookies. We use security cookies to authenticate users, prevent fraudulent use of login credentials, and protect user data from unauthorized access. These cookies help detect suspicious activity, mitigate bot traffic, and enhance overall website security. Examples include Cloudflare cookies used for fraud prevention and CAPTCHA verification cookies that confirm human interactions.
  • Social Media Cookies. Some cookies are set by third-party social media platforms such as Facebook, X, Pinterest, and LinkedIn. These cookies allow users to share content and interact with embedded social media features. Additionally, social media cookies may track user activity across different websites for advertising and remarketing purposes. Since these cookies are managed by third parties, their usage is governed by the privacy policies of the respective platforms. Users can adjust their privacy settings on these platforms to control cookie behavior.

Because technology is constantly changing, however, we may change the types of Cookies that are used with the Sites from time to time. We will update this Policy in accordance with applicable law. To  find more information about cookies and for instructions on how to disable them please visit www.allaboutcookies.org or visit the help section of your browser. Most browsers are initially set to allow cookies, but also offer the option to restrict cookies or warn you of their use. By disabling cookies, you won’t be able to enjoy the convenience provided by our customization.

We may also use technologies to collect information about your online activities over time and across third party websites or other online services (e.g., behavioral tracking), including the use of session replay technology. Because there are not yet common industry-accepted “do-not-track” standards and systems, our Website does not respond to “do-not-track” signals.

THE WAY WE USE INFORMATION

We use the information you provide (about you or someone else) (a) to provide and maintain the Services; (b) to address and respond to service, security, and customer support issues; (c) to detect, prevent, or otherwise address fraud, security, unlawful, or technical issues; (d) as required by law; (e) to fulfill our contracts; (f) to improve and enhance the Services; (g) to provide analysis or valuable information back to our Customers and users.

Universal also collects and stores site visitor information and order information to fulfill our obligation to our customers and provide the Services.  Universal will retain your information for the longer of the time (i) that your account with us is active, and (ii) needed to comply with our legal obligations to you and others, to resolve disputes, and enforce our agreements.

If you contact us, we retain copies of your email correspondence and use return email addresses to answer the email received. Such addresses are not used for any other purpose and are not shared with outside parties.

We may post a product review or other content (including social media posts associated with hashtags related to Universal Companies) that you submit, although we reserve the right to not post such content if we, in our sole discretion, deem the content inappropriate. See our Terms of Use for more information.

See our Terms of Use for more information. For more detail about how information is collected and used, see Annex 1 below.

EMAIL/TEXT MARKETING

We will occasionally send out promotional emails to our previous purchasers and email signups. You may opt-in to receive emails from us by providing an email address (for example, at an in-person trade show or other event) or by signing up within your Customer Account. You may also elect to communicate by SMS messaging, to receive promotional emails, texts, and catalogs from Universal unless you opt-out.  You can unsubscribe from the email or SMS service at any time after registration by simply clicking on the "Unsubscribe" link at the bottom of any email and follow the specified instructions to opt-out or contact us to opt-out of SMS messaging. You will then be unsubscribed from such services within 10 business days.  To unsubscribe from catalogs, please contact us at info@universalcompanies.com.  While you may opt-out of these specific Services, Universal will retain your email address and cell phone number to send you transactional emails pertaining to your order, your account, etc. unless you cancel your account.

HOW WE DISCLOSE YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION

We may share your personal information with (a) third-party service providers; (b) business partners; (c) affiliated companies within our corporate structure; and (d) as needed for legal purposes.  Third-party service providers have access to personal information only as needed to perform their functions, and they must process the personal information in accordance with this Privacy Policy.

Service Providers and Contractors

We may disclose your personal information with our vendors, subsidiaries, partners, and third-party independent contractors for purposes of: (1) performing functions on behalf of us, such as processing credit card transactions; (2) providing you with product offers, marketing or promotional materials through phone, text, or electronic and/or postal mail; 3) tracking consumer complaints, and (3) tracking information generated through our Website or social media sites. Our vendors, partners and third-party independent contractors are obligated contractually not to use or share your personal information for unauthorized purposes.

Outside Parties

We disclose Personal Information to third parties we work with who help us gather information from you and communicate with you including entities that provide sweepstakes/contests sponsorship, social media companies, companies providing data analytics, targeted advertising, companies that help us oversee consumer complaints, or online behavioral marketing services. We may share product reviews that you submit with our authorized dealers solely for informational and promotional purposes. If our information practices change at some time in the future we will post the policy changes to our Website. If you are concerned about how your information is used, you should check our Website periodically.

Legal Obligations

We may disclose personal information to outside parties (including, without limitation, governmental agencies) if required to do so by law, regulation or court order; to respond to governmental and/or law enforcement requests; to identify, contact or bring legal action against someone who may be causing injury to or interfering with our (or others’) rights or property; to support any actual or threatened claim, defense or declaration in a case or before any jurisdictional and/or administrative authority, arbitration or mediation panel; to enforce the Terms of Use of our Website; to prevent imminent physical harm; in the event that we find that your actions on our Website violate any laws, our Terms of Use, or any of our usage guidelines for specific products or services; or in connection with disciplinary actions/investigations. 

Sale or Corporate Restructuring

We may disclose Personal Information to third parties in connection with the sale, assignment or other transfer of the business of our website or the sale, assignment, merger, reorganization or other transfer of our brand or company, provided that the third party agrees to adhere to the terms of this Policy.

Finally, we never use or share the personal information provided to us online in ways unrelated to the ones described above without also providing you an opportunity to opt-out or otherwise prohibit such unrelated uses.

THIRD-PARTY HOSTING

We contract with a third party to maintain and host our Website. Therefore, any information you submit, including personal information, will be placed and stored on a computer server maintained by this third-party host. The third party has agreed to implement technology and security features and strict policy guidelines to safeguard the privacy of your personal information from unauthorized access or improper use.

THIRD-PARTY ADVERTISING AND ANALYTICS DISCLAIMERS

We and/or third parties including advertising companies, social networking sites, and service providers on our behalf, use cookies, web beacons and other similar technology, to collect information for the purposes described in this Policy including advertising, analytics, online behavioral marketing, monitoring performance and improvement of our online services (traffic, errors, page load time, popular pages, etc.).

You can opt out of remarketing and targeting advertising as follows:

  • Google Analytics, Adobe Marketing Cloud and Facebook Pixel: We use Google Analytics and Facebook Pixel to understand how our website, services, and products perform, how you use them, and to serve you with ads on third-party websites and social networking sites like Facebook. To learn more about how Google processes your data, please visit: https://www.google.com/policies/privacy/ . To opt out of Google Analytics, please install the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on by visiting: https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout . To learn more about how Facebook uses your data, please visit: https://www.facebook.com/policy.php
  • Digital Advertising Alliance: You can also opt out from companies like Google, Facebook and other participating companies through the Digital Advertising Alliance in the USA: http://www.aboutads.info/choices/ . You can also opt out of participating companies from the European Interactive Digital Advertising Alliance in Europe: http://www.youronlinechoices.eu/ , or opt out using your mobile device settings.

CUSTOMER ACCOUNT

By creating a Customer Account on the Website, you will be able to store certain personal information to assist your online shopping experience, such as shipping addresses, email addresses and billing information. You may access and edit any personal information maintained within your account at any time. To do so, simply login using your email address and secured password and navigate through the information tabs on the left-hand side of your Account Dashboard. We use this procedure to better safeguard your information. You may also subscribe to receive our free newsletter, email promotions, and other updates. If you wish to unsubscribe from our email list, you will need to do so by clicking on the unsubscribe link at the bottom of our marketing emails.

RETENTION OF DATA

We will retain your personal information (collected through offline and online methods) for as long as it is necessary for the purposes described in this Policy. We will also retain and use your personal information to the extent necessary to comply with our legal obligations, resolve disputes, and enforce our legal agreements and policies. For more information regarding retention of personal information see Annex 1.

INTENDED AUDIENCE OF WEBSITE; COPPA COMPLIANCE

The Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (“COPPA”) does not apply to our business. We do not knowingly collect information from minors in the United States or elsewhere with or without the consent of their parents or guardians. Children (under the age of 18) are not eligible to use the Website unsupervised, and we ask that children do not submit any personal information to us. If you are not 18 or older, you should not visit or use our Website or social media accounts. If you become aware that a minor has provided us with personal information without appropriate consent, then please contact us using the details below so that we can take the appropriate steps in accordance with our legal obligations and this Policy.

OUR COMMITMENT TO DATA SECURITY

To prevent unauthorized access, maintain data accuracy, and ensure the correct use of information, we have put in place and maintain appropriate physical, electronic, and managerial procedures to safeguard and secure the information we collect.

The transmission of information via the Internet is not completely secure. Although we strive to protect your personal information in accordance with this Policy, we will not be liable for disclosure of personal information obtained due to errors in transmission or security breaches.

We may make available third party applications through our Website and social media applications for your use. Links to such applications, any other websites included in this Site or links on our social media accounts operate with privacy policies beyond our control. Unless otherwise indicated, once you have left our Site or our social media account, all use of information you provide is governed by the privacy policy of the other website’s or social media account’s operators. We are not responsible for any transactions that occur between you and a third-party website or social media account.

GOVERNING LAW

This Policy and our privacy practices will be subject exclusively to the laws of the State of Virginia, United States of America. We make no representation that this Policy and its practices comply with the laws of any other jurisdiction.

INTERNATIONAL USERS AND DATA TRANSFERS

The data we collect or process from the Website will be stored in the United States of America. As such, we take considerable measures to comply with the legal requirements and safeguards set forth by the General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”) and other applicable legal requirements required for cross-border collection, use, and retention of personal information from the European Economic Area (“EEA”), Switzerland, or the United Kingdom. If you are located in the EEA, please refer to the Notice to EU Data Subjects.

HOW TO CONTACT US:

Should you have other questions or concerns about this Policy, please call us at 800.558.5571 or send us an email inquiry to info@universalcompanies.com.

If you have an unresolved privacy or data use concern that we have not addressed satisfactorily, please contact our U.S.-based, third-party dispute resolution provider (free of charge) at https://feedback-form.truste.com/watchdog/request .

CHANGES TO THIS POLICY:

We reserve the right to modify the terms of this Policy at any time and in our sole discretion, by posting the revised Policy on this page. We recommend that you check this page for updates when you visit our Website to ensure you are aware of and understand our current Policy. If we make a material change to this Policy regarding how we use or collect your personal data, we may post a notice to this page or send an email describing the changes. YOUR CONTINUED USE OF OUR WEBSITE FOLLOWING OUR POSTING OF A CHANGE NOTICE WILL CONSTITUTE BINDING ACCEPTANCE OF THOSE CHANGES.

NOTICE TO EU DATA SUBJECTS

PERSONAL INFORMATION

With respect to EU data subjects, “personal information,” as used in this Privacy Policy, is equivalent to “personal data” as defined in the European Union General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

HOW INFORMATION IS COLLECTED, USED AND DISCLOSED

Personal Information

When we use the term “Personal Information” in this Privacy Policy, we mean information such as your name, e-mail address, street address, mailing address if different, town or city, state, zip code, telephone number, credit card information, and any other information that would allow someone to identify you or contact you including information collected through cookies and other technology. We collect information from you when you voluntarily provide it, using automated technology, and through third party sources as further detailed below.

Personal Information includes information collected and maintained through your use of our Website, including about your personal preferences, survey responses and your relationship with us. When you browse our Website, we also collect information about you through your browser, computer hardware and software. This information can include your IP address, device ID, browser type, domain names, access times and dates, number of clicks, pages viewed, one or more cookies (as described below) that may uniquely identify your browser, and referring website addresses. We also collect and maintain aggregate anonymous information about usage of and visitors to our website.

We receive Personal Information (such as your first/middle initial or name, last name, e-mail address, street address, mailing address if different, town or city, state, zip code, and telephone number) about you from certain third-party sources.

How We Use Your Personal Information

Universal Companies uses Personal Information to:

  • Create and administer your account
  • Send you an order confirmation by letter, email or, when selected, SMS messaging
  • Facilitate and improve the usage of the services you have ordered
  • Assess the needs of your business to determine suitable products
  • Send you product updates, marketing communication, and service information by letter, email or, when selected, SMS messaging
  • Respond to customer inquiries and support requests by letter, email or, when selected, SMS messaging
  • Conduct research and analysis
  • Display content based upon your interests
  • Analyze data, including through automated systems and machine learning to improve our services and/or your experience
  • Provide you information about your use of the services and benchmarks, insights and suggestions for improvements by letter, email or, when selected, SMS messaging
  • Market services of our third-party business partners by letter, email or, when selected, SMS messaging

You may subscribe or unsubscribe to Universal Companies communications. You may unsubscribe by clicking the “Unsubscribe” link at the bottom of any email you receive from Universal Companies. Any credit card information you provide in connection with a transaction will be used only as needed to process that transaction.

If you are a subscriber, you are responsible for giving us current, complete and accurate information and keep the information you provide to us up to date. We cannot and shall not be responsible for any problems or liability that may arise if you do not give us current, accurate, truthful or complete information or you fail to update the information you give us.

Except as disclosed in this Privacy Policy or authorized by you via opt-in, Universal Companies does not share, rent or lease any Personal Information that you provide with any unaffiliated third parties. The term “unaffiliated third parties” or “third parties” does not include any subsidiaries or affiliates of Universal Companies.

How We Share Your Information

Service Providers and Contractors

We disclose Personal Information you provide to consultants, service providers, and contractors that we use to support our business and operations who have agreed to keep the information confidential and use it only to provide the applicable service(s), such as vendors, that help us communicate with you, vendors that host our website and data, marketing and targeted advertising vendors, security and fraud detection vendors.

Third Parties

If you consent, we will share your personal information, including name, address, details of your membership, and transactions, email communication history, and history of other interactions with us, through mailing list exchanges with third parties. These companies may use the shared information for their own purposes including advertising and marketing. We also share your information with third parties such as advertising companies and marketing entities. See section below titled “Advertising and Behavioral Marketing” for additional information.

We may disclose Personal Information to outside parties (including, without limitation, governmental agencies) if required to do so by law, regulation or court order; to respond to governmental and/or law enforcement requests; to identify, contact or bring legal action against someone who may be causing injury to or interfering with our (or others’) rights or property; to support any actual or threatened claim, defense or declaration in a case or before any jurisdictional and/or administrative authority, arbitration or mediation panel; or in connection with disciplinary actions/investigations.

Unaffiliated Third Parties

We may make your Personal Information available to non-affiliated third parties in the following circumstances:

  • If we are compelled to do so by a governmental agency, court or other entity (e.g., to respond to subpoenas, court orders or legal process);
  • If we believe your actions violate a law, regulation, this Privacy Policy or any applicable Website terms of use, or if you threaten the rights, property or safety of us, our Website, any other users or third party;
  • If, in our sole discretion, we believe disclosure is necessary to investigate or resolve possible problems or inquiries, to protect our assets, to defend our interests or comply with our legal and regulatory obligations; or
  • If there is a bankruptcy, merger, acquisition, transfer of control, joint venture or other business combination involving Universal Companies.

Advertising and Behavioral Marketing

We use remarketing services to advertise on third-party websites to you after you visit our Website, applications, and other online services.

We and/or third-parties including advertising companies, marketing entities , and service providers on our behalf, use cookies, web beacons and other similar technology, to collect information for the purposes described in this Privacy Policy including advertising, analytics, online behavioral marketing, monitoring performance and improvement of our online services (traffic, errors, page load time, popular pages, etc.).

You may opt out of behavioral marketing as follows:

  • Digital Advertising Alliance: https://optout.aboutads.info/?c=2&lang=EN ; or the National Advertising Initiative https://optout.networkadvertising.org/?c=1 ; or by using your mobile device settings
  • Facebook. To understand more about Facebook advertising and manage your preferences, please visit this link at Facebook. Login to Facebook and go to Settings > Ads > Ad Settings (web) or Ad Preferences > Ad Settings (app) for more information.
  • Google Ads. To opt out of Google Ads, please visit this link at Google.
  • X. To understand more about X’s Personalized Ads and marketing and exercise your privacy options, please visit this link at X. You can learn more about X’s privacy practices and policies by visiting their Privacy Policy page at X Privacy.
  • Pinterest. You can opt-out from Pinterest’s interest-based ads by enabling the “Do Not Track” functionality of your web browser or by following Pinterest instructions at Pinterest Settings and updating your “Personalization” preferences.
  • Microsoft. To learn more about how Microsoft uses your data across its products and manage your privacy preferences, please visit Microsoft Privacy. Information on Microsoft Advertising and opt-out choices is available at Microsoft Resources.
  • Instagram. To learn more about Instagram Ads and to exercise your choices, please visit Instagram Ads. This Privacy Policy does not apply to, and we are not responsible for, third-party cookies, web beacons, or other tracking technologies, which are covered by such third parties’ privacy policies. For more information, we encourage you to check the privacy policies of these third parties to learn about their privacy practices.

In addition, the Website may provide links to resources we believe may be useful. These links will lead you to websites operated by third parties that operate under different privacy policies. We encourage you to review those privacy policies, as this Privacy Policy does not apply to such sites, and we have no control over information you may submit to those third parties or how they may use the information you provide to them. We may use third parties, such as ad server companies, to present advertisements you may see on our Website, which may also include advertisements placed by third parties. These third parties may employ cookie and web bug technologies to measure advertising effectiveness. We have no control over such third parties’ use of technologies or their policies and practices concerning their collection and use of your information. Our Privacy Policy does not cover information collected by third parties, nor how they may use such information.

If you are a resident of the European Economic Area (EEA), or otherwise subject to the GDPR, Universal Companies’ legal basis for collecting and using the Personal Information described in this Privacy Policy depends on the Personal Information we collect and the specific context in which we collect it. In addition, we process Personal Information with the principle of data minimization in mind. This means that we limit ourselves to the minimum amount of personal information which is needed to achieve the particular purpose for which we process the Personal Information. Below are some examples of the purposes for which Personal Information may be processed.

We may process your Personal Information because:

  • The processing is necessary to provide the services and features you have requested.
  • The processing is necessary to perform a contract with you.
  • The processing is necessary for the legitimate interests of our business, such as fraud prevention, information security, or to comply with the law.
  • You have provided consent for us to do so.

RETENTION OF PERSONAL INFORMATION

We will retain your Personal Information for as long as it is necessary for the purposes set out in this Policy and to the extent necessary to comply with our legal obligations (for example, if we are required to retain your Personal Information to comply with applicable laws), resolve disputes, and enforce our legal agreements and policies.

SECURITY

We have adopted reasonable and appropriate security procedures to help protect against loss, misuse, and unauthorized access to the information you provide to us. Please note, however, that no data transmission or storage can be guaranteed to be 100% secure. As a result, while we strive to protect your information and privacy, we cannot guarantee or warrant the security of any information you disclose or transmit to the Site and cannot be responsible for the theft, destruction, or inadvertent disclosure of your information.

AUTOMATIC DATA COLLECTION

Universal Companies and its analytics and other service providers use technologies such as cookies, web beacons, tags, scripts and other similar technologies (collectively, “Cookies”) to collect certain information. These technologies are used to help us and our business partners analyze trends, administer the Sites, remember preferences, track users’ movements around the Sites and gather demographic information about our customer base as a whole. Some types of Cookies, like web beacons, allow us or third parties working on our behalf to gauge and enhance the effectiveness of our marketing by allowing us to understand whether users follow links in our e-mails or on our Sites, and by gathering information about other sites users visit before and after visiting our Sites. Certain other Cookies are used to store preferences on a user’s computer or mobile device, or display content based upon what a user viewed on the Site to personalize their visit. Currently, Universal Companies employs cookies and tracking technologies on its Sites, including the following:

  • Essential Cookies. These cookies are necessary for the website to function properly. They enable basic functionalities such as page navigation, secure logins, and load balancing to ensure performance. Without these cookies, certain features of the website may not work correctly. These cookies do not track browsing behavior or store personal information.
  • Session Cookies. We employ session cookies to manage and maintain user sessions on our website. Session cookies allow us to keep track of your activities during a single browsing session, such as keeping you logged in as you navigate through different pages. This ensures a seamless and continuous experience while you explore our website. Session cookies are automatically deleted when you close your browser and do not store personal data beyond a single visit. If a user chooses to disable these cookies, the user may experience disruptions in website functionality.
  • Persistent Cookies. Our website utilizes persistent cookies to remember user preferences and settings for future visits. These cookies remain stored on your device even after you close your browser, allowing us to provide a personalized experience when you return. Persistent cookies have a set expiration date and can be removed manually through browser settings.
  • Functional (Preference) Cookies. These cookies remember how you like to use the website and help personalize your experience. They store information such as language preferences, display settings, and login details for convenience. These cookies do not track your browsing habits across other websites and do not serve advertisements.
  • Analytics Cookies. These cookies collect information about how users interact with the website to help improve its functionality and performance. For example, analytics cookies allow us to track most visited pages, user engagement, and potential errors. Some analytics cookies may be operated by third-party services such as Google Analytics or Microsoft Clarity. These cookies do not collect personal data for advertising purposes but may be used for aggregated reporting on website performance.
  • Advertising & Targeting Cookies. These cookies track user activity across websites to deliver personalized advertisements and measure the effectiveness of ad campaigns. They are often set by third-party advertising networks such as Google Ads, Facebook Pixel, and Microsoft Advertising. These cookies collect information about user interests, interactions with ads, and browsing behavior to provide targeted marketing. Users can manage advertising cookie preferences through their browser or the respective ad network’s settings.
  • Security Cookies. We use security cookies to authenticate users, prevent fraudulent use of login credentials, and protect user data from unauthorized access. These cookies help detect suspicious activity, mitigate bot traffic, and enhance overall website security. Examples include Cloudflare cookies used for fraud prevention and CAPTCHA verification cookies that confirm human interactions.
  • Social Media Cookies. Some cookies are set by third-party social media platforms such as Facebook, X, Pinterest, and LinkedIn. These cookies allow users to share content and interact with embedded social media features. Additionally, social media cookies may track user activity across different websites for advertising and remarketing purposes. Since these cookies are managed by third parties, their usage is governed by the privacy policies of the respective platforms. Users can adjust their privacy settings on these platforms to control cookie behavior.

Because technology is constantly changing, however, we may change the types of Cookies that are used with the Sites from time to time. We will update this Policy in accordance with applicable law.

Third party cookies on https://www.universalcompanies.com/ site are as follows:

Cookie Name Service Expiration Date Purpose Privacy Policy
AEC .google.com 2025-08-04T20:57:24.667Z Ensures that requests within a browsing session are made by the user and not by other sites. https://policies.google.com/technologies/cookies?hl=en-US
IDE .doubleclick.net 2026-04-04T20:44:28.151Z Used by Google DoubleClick to register and report the website user's actions after viewing or clicking one of the advertiser's ads with the purpose of measuring the efficacy of an ad and to present targeted ads. https://policies.google.com/privacy?hl=en
MSPTC .bing.com 2026-03-22T22:06:59.062Z Used by Microsoft to store user preferences and track user behavior on the site. https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/privacy/privacystatement
MUID .clarity.ms 2026-03-29T21:56:09.418Z Used widely as a unique user identifier. This cookie enables tracking by Microsoft Clarity. https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/privacy/privacystatement
MUID .bing.com 2026-03-29T21:56:08.377Z Used widely as a unique user identifier. This cookie enables tracking by Microsoft Bing. https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/privacy/privacystatement
_ttp .tiktok.com 2026-03-29T22:46:52.235Z Used by TikTok to track user behavior and preferences. https://www.tiktok.com/legal/page/us/privacy-policy/en
ar_debug .googleadservices.com 2025-05-26T23:06:00.113Z Used for debugging Google Ad services. https://policies.google.com/privacy?hl=en
ar_debug .doubleclick.net 2025-03-23T05:53:31.799Z Used for debugging DoubleClick services. https://policies.google.com/privacy?hl=en
datr .facebook.com 2026-04-01T19:20:10.975Z Used by Facebook to identify the web browser being used to connect to Facebook independent of the logged-in user. https://www.facebook.com/privacy/policies/cookies/#
fr .facebook.com 2025-05-26T22:27:22.837Z Used by Facebook to deliver, measure, and improve the relevancy of ads. https://www.facebook.com/privacy/policies/cookies/#
sb .facebook.com 2026-04-01T19:20:00.443Z Used by Facebook to improve friend suggestions. https://www.facebook.com/privacy/policies/cookies/#
wd .facebook.com 2025-03-06T22:43:40.000Z Used by Facebook to optimize the display of the page. https://www.facebook.com/privacy/policies/cookies/#

 

At any time, you can modify your cookie settings. You may block cookies by activating the setting on your browser that allows you to refuse the setting of all or some cookies. However, if you use your browser settings to block all cookies (including essential cookies) you may not be able to access all or parts of our site.

To find more information about cookies please visit www.allaboutcookies.org. Most browsers are initially set to allow cookies, but also offer the option to restrict cookies or warn you of their use. By disabling cookies, you won’t be able to enjoy the convenience provided by our customization.

CROSS-BORDER DATA TRANSFERS

Your information, including Personal Information, may be transferred to—and maintained on— computers located outside of your state, province, country or other governmental jurisdiction where the data protection laws may differ from those of your jurisdiction.

If you are located outside of the United States and choose to provide information to us, please be aware that your personal data will be transferred to, processed, and stored in the United States. Data protection laws in the U.S. may be different from those in your country of residence.

Whenever we transfer your personal information out of the EEA to the U.S. or countries not deemed by the European Commission to provide an adequate level of personal information protection, the transfer will be based on a dat

Transfers to Third Parties

Courts, tribunals, government authorities and related parties or counterparties with whom we share personal data, third-party vendors and business partners are in some cases located outside the EU. Unless the recipients are located in countries that have been deemed adequate by the European Commission, we put in place data transfer agreements based on the applicable European Commission-approved Standard Contractual Clauses to protect the personal data so transferred. In certain cases, we may rely on statutory derogations for international data transfers.

Please contact us if you want further information on the specific mechanism used by us when transferring your personal information out of the EEA. We will take all steps reasonably necessary to ensure that your Personal Information is treated securely and in accordance with this Privacy Policy.

YOUR DATA PROTECTION RIGHTS UNDER THE GDPR DATA PRIVACY LAWS

The Data Controller

The Data Controller who collects and processes your Personal Information is:

Universal Companies, Inc.
18260 Oak Park Drive
Abingdon, Virginia 24210

Rights Under GDPR

If you are a resident of the European Economic Area (EEA), you have certain data protection rights. Barring certain situations, you have the following data protection rights:

  • The right to access, update or erasure of the information we have on you. You have the right to access, update and erase your Personal Information.
  • The right of rectification. You have the right to have your Personal Information corrected if that information is inaccurate or incomplete.
  • The right to object. You have the right to object to our processing of your Personal Information.
  • The right of restriction. You have the right to request that we restrict the processing of your Personal Information.
  • The right to data portability. You have the right to be provided with a copy of the information that we have on you in a structured, machine-readable and commonly used format.
  • The right to withdraw consent. You have the right to withdraw your consent at any time where we relied on your consent to process your Personal Information.
  • The right to know about automated decision making. As a data subject you also have the right to not be subject to decisions based on automated decision making alone, including profiling, and which may lead to legal consequences for you. This right does not apply if such processing is necessary in order for us to enter into or fulfil an agreement with you, if such processing is allowed according to applicable legislation, or if the legal basis for such processing is your consent.
  • The right to lodge complaint with supervisory authority. You have the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority, if you consider that the processing of the data in question breaches the provisions of data protection law. You can assert this right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority in the Member State where you are domiciled, at your place of work or at the place of the alleged breach.

We have implemented reasonable steps to allow you to correct, amend, delete, or limit the use of your Personal Information. If you wish to be informed of the type of Personal Information we hold about you and/or if you wish to remove such Personal Information from our systems, please contact us at:

info@universalcompanies.com or:

Universal Companies, Inc.
18260 Oak Park Drive
Abingdon, Virginia 24210

Please note that for your safety and security, we may ask you to verify your identity before responding to such requests.

 

 

CALIFORNIA CONSUMERS ONLY:

YOUR CALIFORNIA PRIVACY RIGHTS

This Privacy Rights Act Notice (“Notice”) provides additional information to California residents whose Personal Information is collected by us pursuant to California law, including the California Consumer Privacy Act (“CCPA”), as amended by the California Privacy Rights Act (“CPRA”). If you are not a California resident, this Notice does not apply to you. Please visit our Privacy Policy (“Policy”) for more information. Any capitalized terms undefined in this Notice have the same definition as the Policy.

PERSONAL INFORMATION COLLECTED, DISCLOSED OR SOLD

Information Collected

Within the past 12 months, we have collected the categories of personal information about California consumers as described in Annex 1 to this Notice. To review these categories click Annex 1.

Business-to-Business (“B2B”) Information

If you are a contact person for any of our business partners, vendors, distributors, suppliers, service providers, contractors, or other entities with which we have a business relationship or potential business relationship, you have the same rights as other consumers set forth in this Notice with respect to the information we collect from you in that role. We collect the contact information you provide to us, including name, phone number, address, email address and other contact and relationship information and communications consistent with your role in facilitating that business relationship. We use that information for internal purposes, including to contact you, send and receive information, and otherwise facilitate the business relationship. We do not disclose that information outside our business relationship without your consent. For more details see Annex 1.

Information Sold or Shared

As explained in Annex 1 of this Policy, we share your data with third-party partners such as social networking sites and advertising companies in order to serve you with ads tailored to your preferences across various platforms. We also share your data with service providers to enhance user experience. For example, if a customer provides their email on one brand’s site, a service provider may pair it with the device and check the customer’s email subscription status across other partner sites to either send relevant messaging or prompt for email opt-in if unsubscribed. This type of sharing may be considered “selling” or “sharing” under the CPRA. You can control the information shared about you and request an opt-out as explained below.

We have sold or shared the following categories of personal information for a business or commercial purpose in the preceding 12 months.

  • Personal Identifiers
  • Commercial Information
  • Internet Activity

We have disclosed the following categories of personal information for a business or commercial purpose in the preceding 12 months:

  • Personal Identifiers
  • Commercial Information
  • Internet Activity

We do not knowingly sell the personal information of individuals under 16 years of age without affirmative authorization.

For details regarding the categories of third parties with whom we have shared, sold, or disclosed personal information, please see Annex 1.

CPRA RIGHTS AND REQUESTS

Under the CPRA, you are entitled to certain rights, and you can make requests with regard to those rights as follows:

  • Right to Know about the Categories of Personal Information Collected (“Right to Know”)
  • Right to Request Deletion of Personal Information (“Right to Delete”)
  • Right to Correct or Rectify Inaccurate Information about you (“Right to Correct”)

HOW TO MAKE YOUR REQUESTS TO KNOW, DELETE, OR CORRECT.

You have the right make requests for the aforementioned rights (Request to Know; Request to Delete; or a Request to Correct (a “Request”)).

To make a Request for any of the information set forth above, please submit a verifiable consumer request pursuant to the instructions below. The Request must provide sufficient information to allow us to verify that you are the person about whom the personal information was collected, sold, shared, or disclosed and must contain sufficient detail to allow us to properly understand, evaluate and respond to your request. If we cannot verify your identity, we will not be able to respond to your request. We will acknowledge your Request within 10 business days and will attempt to respond substantively within 45-90 days.

You may make a Request the following ways:

Once we receive your Request, we will begin the process to verify that you are the person that is the subject of the request (the “Verification Process”). The Verification Process consists of matching identifying information provided by you with the information we have about you in our records. You will be asked to provide us with two or three pieces of information that will help us to verify your identification.

We will review all information provided by you to us, to determine whether we can respond to your Request. We will inform you of our decision to deny or grant your Request.

For any Requests to Know, you may make such Requests twice within a 12-month period.

For Requests to Correct, you will need to provide evidence supporting the inaccuracy of the current information, and we reserve the right to delete the information instead of correcting if such deletion does not impact you or you consent to the deletion.

We will retain correspondence, documents and information related to any Request for 24 months as required by law.

ADDITIONAL CPRA RIGHTS

The following are additional rights afforded to you under the CPRA.

Right to Know Sensitive Personal Information Collected

We do not collect or process sensitive personal information for the purpose of inferring characteristics or for any purposes other than those set forth in Regulations section 7027(m).

Right to Opt out of Sharing and Selling

To opt out of selling or sharing of your personal information:

RIGHT TO NON-DISCRIMINATION FOR EXERCISING CONSUMER PRIVACY RIGHTS

You have the right not to receive discriminatory treatment for exercising your privacy rights conferred by the California Consumer Privacy Act, including by exercising the rights specified herein.

OPT-OUT PREFERENCE SIGNALS

We honor opt-out preference signals that you enable, including a Global Privacy Control. Opt-out preference signals are plug-ins available in certain browsers that signal to websites you visit of your preferences to opt out of the sale and sharing of certain personal information. If you have enabled an opt-out preference signal device from your browser, we will not sell or share your personal information without first seeking your explicit consent.

COOKIES

As explained in our “Automatic Data Collection” section, you can opt out of cookies using your browser.

Please Note:

  • Opt-outs are device and browser based. You must opt out on each device and each browser where you want your choice to apply.
  • Opt-outs maybe stored via cookies. If you clear cookies, your opt-out may no longer be valid and you must opt out again where you want your choices to apply.
  • We may still share your information with our service providers that help us perform functions that are necessary for our business such as vendors that host our website, credit card processors, analytics processors. These entities are contractually obligated to keep this information confidential and not use it for any purpose other than for the services they provide to our business.
  • You may still receive ads from us that are not tailored to your interests.

ADDITIONAL OPTIONS TO OPT OUT OF SALE OF SHARING

In addition to the above options to opt out of the sale or sharing of your information under the CCPA as described above, you have controls and choices with respect to collection and use of your information by third parties. These are summarized for you below. We do not control or maintain opt-out mechanisms for third-party companies and are not responsible for their operation.

ADVERTISING OPT OUT

You can opt out of sharing your information with third-party companies engaged in targeted advertising including social networking sites such as Google and Facebook using the following tools:

GOOGLE OPT OUT

If you would like to opt out of Google Analytics and Ads, you can. If you are on the web, you can opt out of Google Analytics by installing Google’s Opt Out browser add on here, and you can opt out of interest-based Google ads using this link.

FACEBOOK AD PREFERENCES

To understand more about Facebook advertising and manage your preferences, please visit Facebook Ads. Login to Facebook and go to Settings > Ads > Ad Settings (web) or Ad Preferences > Ad Settings (app) for more information.

RIGHT TO ACCESS INFORMATION ABOUT AUTOMATED DECISION MAKING AND THE RIGHT TO OPT-OUT OF AUTOMATED DECISION MAKING

You can request access to information about automated decision making processes Universal Companies uses and you may request to opt out of automated decision making. We engage in automated processing. For more information, please contact us at info@universalcompanies.com

RETENTION OF PERSONAL INFORMATION

We will retain your Personal Information for as long as it is necessary for the purposes set out in Annex 1 and to the extent necessary to comply with our legal obligations (for example, if we are required to retain your Personal Information to comply with applicable laws), resolve disputes, and enforce our legal agreements and policies.

AUTHORIZED AGENT INFORMATION

You may designate an authorized agent to make a request on your behalf under the California Consumer Privacy Act.

Authorized agents can make requests under the California Consumer Privacy Act by emailing us at email address: info@universalcompanies.com. We will require authorized agents to provide proof of the consumer’s identity and proof of designation as an the authorized agent. We may also require that a consumer verify his or her own identity directly with us before we respond to an authorized agent’s request.

We reserve the right to deny requests in certain circumstances, such as where we have a reasonable belief that the request is fraudulent.

CALIFORNIA DO NOT TRACK NOTICE:

Because there are not yet common, industry accepted “do not track” standards and systems, our website does not respond to Do Not Track signals. In addition, we may allow non- parties to collect personal information from your activity on our website, as described in the “Information Collection and Use” section above and as described in Annex 1.

CALIFORNIA SHINE THE LIGHT DISCLOSURE INFORMATION

Although we do not disclose to any non- parties for their marketing purposes any personal information, California residents are entitled to receive the following disclosure information under California law:

Under California Law, California residents have the right to request in writing from businesses with which they have an established business relationship, (1) a list of the categories of personal information, such as name, address, email address, and the type of services provided to the customer, that a business has disclosed to third parties (including affiliates that are separate legal entities) during the immediately preceding calendar year for the third parties’ direct marketing purposes, and (2) the names and addresses of all such third parties. We will respond to such written requests within 30 days following receipt at the email or mailing address specified below under Contact Us If we receive your request at a different email or mailing address, we will respond within a reasonable period of time, but not to exceed 150 days from the date received. Please note that we are required to respond to each customer only once per calendar year.

CHANGES TO THIS PRIVACY POLICY

This Policy may be revised from time to time for any reason. If this Policy changes, the revised policy will include a new effective date, and we will notify you of such changes by posting the revised policy on this page. Be sure to check the Policy whenever you submit personal information to us.

CONTACT FOR MORE INFORMATION

For information and questions about the use of your personal information or this California Consumer Privacy Section or your rights under California law, you may contact us by sending an email to info@universalcompanies.com or by calling 800.558.5571

 

 

PRIVACY NOTICE FOR NEVADA RESIDENTS

Last Updated: December 23, 2025

This Privacy Notice for Nevada Residents supplements the information contained in Universal Companies’ https://www.universalcompanies.com/policies/privacy-policy and applies solely to visitors, users, and others who reside in the State of Nevada (“consumers” or “you”).

Our Website collects information that identifies, relates to, describes, references, is reasonably capable of being associated with a particular consumer or device (“personal information”). The categories of personal information our Website has collected from its consumers within the last twelve (12) months, including from those in Nevada, include:

  • first and last name;
  • home or other physical address, including the street name and city or town;
  • email address;
  • telephone number;
  • an identifier that allows a specific person to be contacted either physically or online; and
  • other information collected from the person through the Internet website or online service of the operator and maintained by the operator in combination with an identifier in a form that makes the information personally identifiable, such as a birthdate and location information.

Universal Companies respects your data rights and does not currently sell any of your data for monetary consideration. To adjust your cookie preferences, click here.

Universal Companies’ overall privacy and security terms https://www.universalcompanies.com/policies/privacy-policy , apply in equal force to Nevada residents except as explicitly noted above. If we make a material change to our Policy regarding how we use or collect your personal data, we will post a notice to this page or send an email describing the changes. 

 

 

COLORADO, CONNECTICUT, DELAWARE, INDIANA, IOWA, KENTUCKY, MARYLAND, MINNESOTA, MONTANA, NEBRASKA, NEW HAMPSHIRE, NEW JERSEY, OREGON, RHODE ISLAND, TENNESSEE, TEXAS, UTAH, OR VIRGINIA RESIDENTS ONLY:

MULTI-STATE CONSUMER DATA PROTECTION ACT NOTICE

This Notice provides additional information to Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Oregon, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, and Virginia residents whose Personal Information is collected pursuant to the applicable privacy laws of those states.

The Notice below applies only to residents of the above mentioned states. Please visit our Privacy Policy (“Policy”) for more information. Any capitalized terms undefined in this Notice have the same definition as the Policy.

RIGHT TO CONFIRM, ACCESS, AND DATA PORTABILITY

You have the right to confirm whether or not we are processing your personal data and to access such personal data in a portable and, to the extent technically feasible, readily usable format that allows you to transmit the data to another controller without hindrance, where the processing is carried out by automated means.

We have collected the categories of Personal Information about residents of the above mentioned states as described in this Notice in Annex 1. To review these categories, click here. 

Information Sold or Used for Targeted Advertising

As noted in our Policy and as explained in Annex 1  of this Policy, we and our third-party partners such as social networking sites and advertising companies, share your data in order to serve you with ads tailored to your preferences across various platforms. We also share your data with service providers to enhance user experience. For example, if a customer provides their email on one brand’s site, a service provider may pair it with the device and check the customer's email subscription status across other partner sites to either send relevant messaging or prompt for email opt-in if unsubscribed. This type of sharing may be considered sharing of information for targeted advertising purposes under certain state laws. You can control the information shared about you and request an opt-out.

We share the following categories of Personal Information for Targeted Advertising (See Annex 1 for further details):

  • Personal Identifiers
  • Commercial Information
  • Internet Activity

For details regarding the categories of third parties with whom we have shared this information, please see Annex 1. You have the right to opt out of the processing of your Personal Information for Targeted Advertising as set forth below.

RIGHT TO REQUEST DELETION OF PERSONAL DATA

You have the right to request the deletion of your personal data provided by or obtained about you (“Request to Delete”), subject to certain exceptions permitted by law.

RIGHT TO CORRECT (NOT APPLICABLE TO IOWA AND UTAH RESIDENTS)

You have the right to request that we rectify inaccurate information about you.

RIGHT TO OPT OUT OF THE SALE OF PERSONAL DATA

We do not sell your personal data for monetary consideration.

RIGHT TO OPT OUT OF DATA PROCESSING FOR TARGETED ADVERTISING

You have the right to opt out of the processing of your personal data for purposes of targeted advertising (“Request to Opt Out”).

RIGHT TO OPT OUT OF PROFILING (NOT APPLICABLE TO UTAH RESIDENTS)

You have the right to opt out of the processing of your personal data for purposes of profiling in furtherance of decisions that produce legal or similarly significant effects (“Request to Opt Out of Profiling”). We do not process your personal data for profiling purposes.

HOW TO MAKE YOUR REQUESTS TO CONFIRM, ACCESS, DATA PORTABILITY, CORRECT, DELETE, AND OPT OUT OF TARGETED ADVERTISING

You can make a Rights Request in the following ways:

We will acknowledge your Request within 10 days and will attempt to respond substantively within 45-90 days.

You must provide sufficient information to allow us to verify that you are the person about whom the personal information was collected and must contain sufficient detail to allow us to properly understand, evaluate and respond to your request. If we cannot verify your identity, we will not be able to respond to your request.

Once we receive your Request, we will begin the process to verify that you are the person that is the subject of the request (the “Verification Process”). The Verification Process consists of matching identifying information provided by you with the information we have about you in our records. You will be asked to provide us with two or three pieces of information that will help us to verify your identity. We will retain correspondence, documents and information related to any Request to Know, Request to Delete, or Request to Opt-Out for 24 months as required by law.

OPT-OUT PREFERENCE SIGNALS

We honor opt-out preference signals that you enable, including a Global Privacy Control. Opt-out preference signals are plug-ins available in certain browsers that signal to websites you visit of your preferences to opt out of the sharing of certain personal information. If you have enabled an opt-out preference signal device from your browser, we will not share your personal information for targeted advertising purposes without first seeking your explicit consent.

COOKIES

As explained in our “AUTOMATIC DATA COLLECTION” section, you can opt out of cookies using your browser. You may also exercise your right to opt-out of cookies using our Cookie Preference Center.

Please Note:

  • Opt-outs are device and browser based. You must opt out on each device and each browser where you want your choice to apply.
  • Opt-outs maybe stored via cookies. If you clear cookies, your opt-out may no longer be valid and you must opt out again where you want your choices to apply.
  • We may still share your Personal Information with our service providers that help us perform functions that are necessary for our business such as vendors that host our Site, analytics processors, etc. These entities are contractually obligated to keep this information confidential and not use it for any purpose other than for the services they provide to our business.
  • You may still receive ads from us that are not tailored to your interests.

ADDITIONAL OPTIONS TO OPT OUT OF TARGETED ADVERTISING

In addition to the above options to opt out of the or processing of your personal data for targeted advertising as described above, you have controls and choices with respect to collection and use of your data by third parties. These are summarized for you below. We do not control or maintain opt-out mechanisms for third party companies and are not responsible for their operation.

Advertising Opt-Out

You can opt out of sharing your data with third-party companies engaged in targeted advertising including social networking sites such as Google and Facebook using the following tools:

Google Opt-Out

If you would like to opt out of Google Analytics and Ads, you can. If you are on the web, you can opt out of Google Analytics by installing Google’s Opt Out browser add on here, and you can opt out of interest-based Google ads using this link.

Facebook Ad Preferences

To understand more about Facebook advertising and manage your preferences, please visit Facebook Ads. Login to Facebook and go to Settings > Ads > Ad Settings (web) or Ad Preferences > Ad Settings (app) for more information.

RIGHT TO NON-DISCRIMINATION FOR EXERCISING CONSUMER PRIVACY RIGHTS

You have the right not to receive discriminatory treatment for exercising your privacy rights , including by exercising the rights specified herein. As the Right to Non-Discrimination is effective across the board, there is no specific “request” that you need to make in order to exercise this right.

AUTHORIZED AGENT

Authorized agents may make requests under the CTDPA, CPA, and VCDPA on behalf of consumers by emailing info@universalcompanies.com. We will require authorized agents to provide proof of the consumer’s consent to and designation of the authorized agent for purpose of making the request, and will require authorized agents to provide information necessary to verify the identity of the consumer who is the subject of the request. We may also require that a consumer verify his or her own identity directly with us before we respond to an authorized agent’s request.

RIGHT TO APPEAL (NOT APPLICABLE TO UTAH RESIDENTS)

You have the right to appeal our decision to deny any of your privacy rights requests above. Within 60 days of receipt of your appeal (45 days for Colorado residents), we will inform you in writing of any action taken or not taken in response to the appeal, including a written explanation of the reasons for the decisions.

Making an Appeal

You can make an appeal in the following ways:

We reserve the right to deny appeals in certain circumstances, such as where we have a reasonable belief that the request is fraudulent.

RETENTION OF PERSONAL INFORMATION

We will retain your Personal Information for as long as it is necessary for the purposes set out in the Privacy Policy and to the extent necessary to comply with our legal obligations (for example, if we are required to retain your Personal Information to comply with applicable laws), resolve disputes, and enforce our legal agreements and policies.

 

 

ANNEX 1

Category Examples Collected From Purposes Disclosed Sold or Shared Retention Period

Personal Identifiers




 


Commercial Information

Name, mailing address, telephone number, email address, financial information including credit card or debit numbers.

Products or services purchased, obtained, considered, reviewed or other purchasing or consuming habits.

You when you visit our Site (including your online activities on our Site), purchase a product, register for an account on our Website, engage with us on social media, communicate with us via phone, email or other contact method or otherwise interact with us including through marketing communications.

We may also collect information from third-party sources, such as our business partners, social media companies like Google and Meta, third-party service providers, opt-in lists, publicly available data, other companies and referrals.

To provide you with our Site;

To respond to your requests;

To provide products that you have ordered;

To manage our consumer complaint case and contact database;

To process your order transactions, contact you regarding your order, and deliver products to you;

To improve our products and Website;

To deliver targeted marketing, service updates, and promotional offers based on your communication preferences;

To send promotional communications or offers regarding our products and services (unless you have requested that we not send such communications);

To authenticate your account credentials and identify you, as necessary to log you in and/or ensure the security of your account;

For marketing, research, legal, and other business purposes;

To prevent, detect, mitigate, and investigate fraud, security breaches, potentially prohibited or illegal activities;

To comply with our policies, procedures, and legal obligations, including complying with law enforcement or governmental authority requests, investigating fraudulent activity, resolving disputes, and enforcing our legal agreements and policies; and as otherwise specified in this Policy and/or at the point of Personal Information collection

Consultants, service providers, third parties, and contractors that we use to support our business and operations (e.g., hosting or operating our Site, data collection, reporting, ad response measurement, Site metrics and analytics, data analysis, delivering marketing messages and advertisements, processing credit card payments, and providing fraud detection services) who have agreed to keep the information confidential and use it only to provide the applicable services;

Third-party payment processors, including in connection with transactions where we require credit or debit card account information such as credit or payment card account information (including card number, expiration date, and security code);

Third-party companies we work with who help to gather information from you or help us to communicate with you, including for purposes of data analytics, targeted advertising, or behavior remarketing, as explained further below;

Third parties (including, without limitation, governmental agencies) if required to do so by law, regulation or court order; to respond to governmental and/or law enforcement requests;

An acquirer or successor-in-interest in the event of a reorganization, merger, sale, change of control, consolidation, joint venture, assignment, transfer or other disposition of all or any part of Universal or its affiliates including any negotiation thereof; and

Third-party advertisers or sponsors of contests, sweepstakes, discounts, and promotions that you enter into on the Website or social media sites.

Certain personal identifiers including name, email, phone number, zip code, and country, may be collected by and/or shared with third parties and service providers, which may constitute “selling” or “sharing” under the CPRA.

Commercial information including products or services purchased, obtained, considered, or reviewed and other consuming habits may be collected by and/or shared with third parties and service providers, which may constitute “sharing” under the CPRA.

To opt out of selling or sharing this information, you may fill out an Opt-Out Request.

We will retain your Personal Information for as long as it is necessary and to the extent necessary to comply with our legal obligations, resolve disputes, and enforce our legal agreements and policies.
Category Examples Collected From Purposes Disclosed Sold or Shared Retention Period

Internet/ Network Activity

IP address, your device information, domain name, browser type and operating system, cellular carrier, webpages viewed before and after visiting our Website, time spent on webpages, links clicked, transactions entered into, site-navigation patterns.

Your computer or mobile device, through your online activities and interactions with us, including, without limitation, your use of our services, your online activity on our Website, and on our social media channels or through our third-party sources.

We may also collect information from third-party sources, such as our business partners, social media companies like Google and Meta, third-party service providers, publicly available data, consumer reporting agencies, other companies and referrals.

To analyze and track usage of our services and products including our Site and social media accounts;

To determine the popularity of our products, Site, and services;

To better understand how you use our Site and services;

To develop new products and service offerings;

To enhance, modify, or improve our business, Site, services and products;

To provide you with a customized user experience;

To send promotional communications or offers including invitations to events, taking surveys, and participating in promotions (unless you have requested that we not send such communications);

For other marketing, research, legal, and other business purposes; and

To comply with our policies, procedures, and legal obligations, including complying with law enforcement or governmental authority requests, investigating fraudulent activity, resolving disputes, and enforcing our legal agreements and policies. For the business purpose of selling you our products or purchasing your goods or services.

Service providers, and contractors that we use to support our business and operations (e.g., vendors hosting or operating our Site, data-storage vendors, customer service centers, entities that deliver communications, including marketing and promotion communications or services, on our behalf, and fraud detection service providers);

Third-party companies that provide us with data analytics, data research, analyzing website metrics, targeted advertising, marketing, and behavioral remarketing including social media companies such as Google and Meta; and

Third parties (including, without limitation, governmental agencies) if required to do so by law, regulation or court order; to respond to governmental and/or law enforcement requests; and

An acquirer or successor-in-interest in the event of a reorganization, merger, sale, change of control, consolidation, joint venture, assignment, transfer or other disposition of all or any part of Universal, Inc. or its affiliates including any negotiation thereof.

Internet/Network activity including IP address, device information, domain name, browser type, operating system, cellular carrier, and browsing information may be collected by and/or shared with third parties and service providers, which may constitute “sharing” under the CPRA.

To opt out of selling or sharing this information, you may fill out an Opt-Out Request.

We will retain your Personal Information for as long as it is necessary and to the extent necessary to comply with our legal obligations, resolve disputes, and enforce our legal agreements and policies.
Category Examples Collected From Purposes Disclosed Sold or Shared Retention Period

Business to Business Information

Name, signature, company name, mailing address, telephone number, email address, license number and Taxpayer Identification Number, consistent with your role in facilitating the business relationship.

When you purchase products, register for an account, engage with us on social media, communicate with us via phone, email or other contact method, interact with us for a business purpose, or when we engage you for your goods or services.

We may also collect information from third-party sources, such as our business partners, social media companies like Google and Meta, third-party service providers, opt-in lists, publicly available data, consumer reporting agencies, other companies and referrals.

For the business purpose of selling you our products or purchasing your goods or services.

Consultants, service providers, and contractors that we use to support our business and operations (e.g., hosting or operating our Site, data collection, reporting, ad response measurement, Site metrics and analytics, data analysis, delivering marketing messages and advertisements, processing credit card payments, and providing fraud detection services) who have agreed to keep the information confidential and use it only to provide the applicable services;

Third-party payment processors, including in connection with transactions where we require credit or debit card account information such as credit or payment card account information (including card number, expiration date, and security code);

Third parties (including, without limitation, governmental agencies) if required to do so by law, regulation or court order; to respond to governmental and/or law enforcement requests;

An acquirer or successor-in-interest in the event of a reorganization, merger, sale, change of control, consolidation, joint venture, assignment, transfer or other disposition of all or any part of Universal or its affiliates including any negotiation thereof.

Business customer email addresses and Internet/Network activity including IP address, device information, domain name, browser type, operating system, cellular carrier, and browsing information may be collected by and/or shared with third parties and service providers, which may constitute “sharing” under the CPRA.

To opt out of selling or sharing this information, you may fill out an Opt-Out Request.

We will retain your B2B Information for as long as it is necessary and to the extent necessary to comply with our legal obligations, resolve disputes, and enforce our legal agreements and policies.