Terms of Service and Privacy Policy


Haystack TV Terms Of Service


  1. Acceptance of Terms of Use

    The terms of this agreement (the “Terms of Use”), which include our Privacy Policy, govern the relationship between you and Haystack TV, Inc. (hereinafter referred to as “Haystack”, “us” or “we”) regarding your use the Haystack service, including all features and functionalities, user interfaces, and all content, applications and software associated therewith (hereinafter the “Service”). By using, visiting, using, or browsing the Service you accept and agree to be bound by these Terms of Use. If you do not agree to any of the provisions set forth, you should not use the Service.

    Any references to “you” or “your” refer to you, as a user of the Service. References to “we,” “us” and “our” refer to Haystack.

    You must be at least 13 years old to use the Services. By using the Services, you represent and warrant that you are at least 13 years old.

    If you are under 18, you represent that you have your parent or guardian’s permission to use the Service. Please have them read this Agreement with you.

    If you are a parent or legal guardian of a user under the age of 18, by allowing your child to use the Service, you are subject to the terms of this Agreement and responsible for your child’s activity on the Service.

  2. Changes to Terms of Use

    Haystack reserves the right to change, alter, replace or otherwise modify these Terms of Use at any time, including the Privacy Policy, by posting the amended Terms of Use on or within the Service. You may also be given additional notice, such as an e-mail message or a notification within the Service, of any changes. You will be deemed to have accepted such changes by continuing to use the Service. Except as otherwise stated, all amended terms shall automatically be effective 30 days after they are initially posted.

  3. How the Haystack Service Works

    Haystack is an online media service and community whereby users (hereinafter “Users”) may (i) access and view certain textual and audio-visual content (the “Content”) and (ii) curate which Content is presented or displayed to the User based on the User’s interests.

    We may, from time to time, release new tools and resources, release new versions of the Service, or introduce other services and/or features. Any new services and features will be subject to these Terms of Use as well as any additional terms of use that we may release for those specific services or features.

  4. Your Haystack Account

    To access certain Services, you must create a user profile (the “User Profile”) with a unique device ID, through your email, or by connecting either your Facebook or your Google account (each a “Third Party Platform”). Such Third Party Platforms will provide us with certain additional information about you, which may include, without limitation, your email address, legal name, country of residence, liked pages, location and usage data, all as more fully described herein, including in the Privacy Policy. After registering with us, you are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your account credentials and for restricting access to your computer. Moreover, you agree to accept responsibility for all activities that occur in your account.

    We may provide automatic service alerts and account-related alerts. You can modify your communication preference at any time. Account–related alerts are sent to you as part of Haystack's service. Alerts will be sent to you via push notification alerts to your mobile and web devices, and/or to the email address you have provided as your primary email address for Haystack. Text notifications may also be available to you in the future. If your email address changes, you are responsible for informing us of that change. Anyone with access to your email will be able to view the content of these alerts. At any time you may disable future alerts.

    We reserve the right to disallow, cancel, remove or reassign certain usernames and permalinks in appropriate circumstances, as determined by us in our sole discretion, and may, with or without prior notice, suspend or terminate your account if activities occur on that account which, in our sole discretion, would or might constitute a violation of these Terms of Use, or an infringement or violation of the rights of any third party, or of any applicable laws or regulations.

    You may terminate your account at any time as described in the Termination section below. Furthermore, we reserve the right to terminate or restrict your use of the Service, without notice, for any or no reason whatsoever.

  5. Haystack TV Premium

    You may subscribe to Haystack TV Premium for ad-free access to the Service by paying a monthly fee. Additional Terms may apply to your use of, access to and purchase of such fee-based products or services and such Additional Terms are incorporated herein by reference. Please note that Haystack TV Premium for ad-free service only applies to content licensed by us, and does not apply to ads that are not controlled by us. For example, you may still be shown ads from YouTube embedded players because we do not control these. You may only purchase such fee-based subscription if, and you hereby represent, warrant and agree that (a) you are 18 years of age or older and (b) you shall pay in full the prices and fees (including, without limitation, all applicable taxes) for any purchases you, or anyone using your User Profile, make via credit card, PayPal or other payment means acceptable to Haystack concurrent with your online order. If payment is not received by us from your credit card issuer or its agents or other payment service provider, you agree to promptly pay all amounts due upon demand by us. Haystack may revise any or all of the fees and prices associated with the fee-based subscription at any time for any or no reason. Further, Haystack does not guarantee that content and products will be available, accurate, complete, reliable, current or error-free. Descriptions and images of, and references to, products or services do not imply our or any of our affiliates’ endorsement of such products or services. Moreover, Haystack and its third party operational service providers reserve the right, with or without prior notice, for any or no reason, to change product descriptions, images, and references; to limit the available quantity of any product; to honor, or impose conditions on the honoring of, any coupon, coupon code, promotional code or other similar promotions; to bar any user from conducting any or all transaction(s); and/or to refuse to provide any User with any product. Further, if Haystack terminates your use of or registration to the Service because you have breached these Terms of Use, you shall not be entitled to a refund of any unused portion of any fees, payments or other consideration.

    You may cancel your Haystack TV Premium subscription at any time via your Account Settings, however you shall not be entitled to a refund of any subscription fees paid up until the point of cancellation.

  6. Your Use of the Service

    Subject to your strict compliance with these Terms of Use, Haystack grants you a limited, personal, non-exclusive, revocable, non-assignable and non-transferable right and license to use the Service to access the Content.

    The above license is conditional upon your strict compliance with these Terms of Use, including, without limitation, the following:

    1. You must not copy, rip or capture, or attempt to copy, rip or capture, any Content from the Service.
    2. You must not adapt, copy, republish, make available or otherwise communicate to the public, display, perform, transfer, share, distribute or otherwise use or exploit any Content on or from the Service, except as permitted under these Terms of Use, and within the parameters set by the Service.
    3. You must not use any in any way that is designed to create a separate content service or that replicates any part of the Service offering.
    4. You must not employ scraping or similar techniques to aggregate, repurpose, republish or otherwise make use of any Content.
    5. You must not employ any techniques or make use of any services, automated or otherwise, designed to misrepresent your activity on the Service, including without limitation by the use of bots, botnets, scripts, apps, plugins, extensions or other automated means to register accounts, log in, play Content, or otherwise to act on your behalf, particularly where such activity occurs in a multiple or repetitive fashion. You must not offer or promote the availability of any such techniques or services to any other users of the Service.
    6. You must not alter or remove, attempt to alter or remove, any trademark, copyright or other proprietary or legal notices contained in, or appearing on, the Service or any Content appearing on the Service.
    7. You must not, and must not permit any third party to, copy or adapt the object code of the Service, or reverse engineer, reverse assemble, decompile, modify or attempt to discover any source or object code of any part of the Service, or circumvent or attempt to circumvent or copy any copy protection mechanism or access any rights management information pertaining to Content.
    8. You must not use the Service to upload, post, store, host, transmit, display, copy, distribute, promote, make available or otherwise communicate to the public:
      1. any Content that is offensive, abusive, libelous, defamatory, obscene, racist, sexually explicit, ethnically or culturally offensive, indecent, that promotes violence, terrorism, or illegal acts, incites hatred on grounds of race, gender, religion or sexual orientation, or is otherwise objectionable in Haystack’s reasonable discretion;
      2. any information, Content or other material that violates, plagiarizes, misappropriates or infringes the rights of third parties including, without limitation, copyright, trademark rights, rights of privacy or publicity, confidential information or any other right;
      3. any Content that violates, breaches or is contrary to any law, rule, regulation, court order or is otherwise is illegal or unlawful in Haystack’s reasonable opinion;
      4. any material of any kind that contains any virus, Trojan horse, spyware, adware, malware, bot, time bomb, worm, or other harmful or malicious component, which or might overburden, impair or disrupt the Service or servers or networks forming part of, or connected to, the Service, or which does or might restrict or inhibit any other user’s use and enjoyment of the Service; or
      5. any unsolicited or unauthorized advertising, promotional messages, spam or any other form of solicitation.
    9. You must not commit or engage in, or encourage, induce, solicit or promote, any conduct that would constitute a criminal offence, give rise to civil liability or otherwise violate any law or regulation.
    10. You must not rent, sell or lease access to the Service, or any Content on the Service.
    11. You must not deliberately impersonate any person or entity or otherwise misrepresent your affiliation with a person or entity, for example, by registering an account in the name of another person or company, or sending messages or making comments using the name of another person.
    12. You must not stalk, exploit, threaten, abuse or otherwise harass another person, including but not limited to any user, or any Haystack employee.
    13. You must not use or attempt to use another person's account, password, or other information, unless you have express permission from that other person.
    14. You must not sell or transfer, or offer to sell or transfer, any Haystack account to any third party without the prior written approval of Haystack.
    15. You must not collect or attempt to collect personal data, or any other kind of information about other users, including without limitation, through spidering or any form of scraping.
    16. You must not violate, circumvent or attempt to violate or circumvent any data security measures employed by Haystack; access or attempt to access data or materials which are not intended for your use; log into, or attempt to log into, a server or account which you are not authorized to access; attempt to scan or test the vulnerability of Haystack’s servers, system or network or attempt to breach Haystack’s data security or authentication procedures; attempt to interfere with the Service by any means including, without limitation, hacking Haystack’s servers or systems, submitting a virus, overloading, mail-bombing or crashing. Without limitation to any other rights or remedies of Haystack under these Terms of Use, Haystack reserves the right to investigate any situation that appears to involve any of the above, and may report such matters to, and co-operate with, appropriate law enforcement authorities in prosecuting any users who have participated in any such violations.

    You agree to comply with the above conditions, and acknowledge and agree that Haystack has the right, in its sole discretion, to terminate your account or take such other action as we see fit if you breach any of the above conditions or any of the other terms of these Terms of Use. This may include taking court action and/or reporting offending users to the relevant authorities.

  7. Explicit Content

    Some of the Content may be considered inappropriate for those under the age of 18. Parental discretion is advised for all users of the services under the age of 18.

  8. Copyright Infringement

    The Haystack service, including all Content included on the Service and user interfaces, or delivered to Users as part of the service, including, but not limited to, text, graphics, logos, designs, photographs, button icons, images, audio/video clips, digital downloads, data compilations, and software, are the property of either Haystack or its licensors, as applicable, and are protected by United States and international copyright, trade secret or other intellectual property laws and treaties. Content shall not be reproduced or used without express written permission from Haystack or its licensors, as applicable.

    Haystack reserves the right to terminate your membership hereunder if Haystack, in its sole and absolute discretion, believes that you are in violation of Haystack’s restrictions against unauthorized copying or use of our proprietary content in violation of the copyrights of Haystack or its licensors, as applicable. Haystack does not promote, foster or condone any infringing activity. The use of the Haystack service, including Content made available to you by us, is solely for your personal and non-commercial use.

    If you discover any Content on the Service that you believe infringes your copyright, please provide written notification to us which includes the following information: (1) a statement that you have identified the Content on Haystack that infringes your copyright or the copyright of a third party on whose behalf you are entitled to act; (2) a description of the copyrighted work(s) that you claim have been infringed, (3) a description of the Content that you claim is infringing and a description of where such Content can be located, (4) your full name, address and telephone number, a valid email address at which you can be contacted, and your Haystack user name, if any, (5) a statement by you that you have a good faith belief that the disputed use of the material is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law, and (6) a statement by you that the information in your notice is accurate and that you are authorized to act on behalf of the owner of the exclusive right that is allegedly infringed. In addition, if you wish for your notice to be considered as a notice pursuant to the United States Digital Millennium Copyright Act 17 U.S.C. §512(c), please also include the following: (1) with respect to your statement that you are authorized to act on behalf of the owner of the exclusive right that is allegedly infringed, confirmation that such statement is made under penalty of perjury; and (2) your electronic or physical signature (which may be a scanned copy). Your notice should be sent to us by email to dmca@haystack.tv . You may also contact us by mail at:

    Attention: Copyright Agent
    Haystack TV, Inc
    95 3rd St
    2nd Floor
    San Francisco, CA 94103

  9. Blocking and Removal of Content

    Notwithstanding the fact that Haystack has no legal obligation to monitor the Content on the Service, Haystack reserves the right to block, remove or delete any Content at any time at its sole discretion, and to limit or restrict access to any Content, for any reason and without liability, including without limitation, if we have reason to believe that such Content does or might infringe the rights of any third party, has been uploaded or posted in breach of these Terms of Use or applicable law, or is otherwise unacceptable to Haystack.

  10. Third Party Websites, Services and Services

    The Service may provide you with access to third party websites, databases, networks, servers, information, software, programs, systems, directories, Services, or products or services (hereinafter “External Services”).

    Haystack does not have or maintain any control over External Services, and is not and cannot be responsible for their content, operation or use. By linking or otherwise displaying information from or providing access to any External Services, Haystack does not give any representation, warranty or endorsement, express or implied, with respect to the legality, accuracy, quality or authenticity of content, information or services provided by such External Services.

    External Services may have their own terms of use and/or privacy policy, and may have different practices and requirements to those operated by Haystack with respect to the Service. You are solely responsible for reviewing any terms of use, privacy policy or other terms governing your use of these External Services, which you use at your own risk. You are advised to make reasonable enquiries and investigations before entering into any transaction, financial or otherwise, and whether online or offline, with any third party related to any External Services.

    You are solely responsible for taking the precautions necessary to protect yourself from fraud when using External Services, and to protect your computer systems from viruses, worms, Trojan horses, and other harmful or destructive content and material that may be included on or may emanate from any External Services. Haystack disclaims any and all responsibility or liability for any harm resulting from your use of External Services, and you hereby irrevocably waive any claim against Haystack with respect to the content or operation of any External Services.

  11. Advertisements

    From time to time, you may choose to communicate or interact with, or obtain External Services of or from, advertisers, sponsors, or promotional partners (collectively, the “Advertisers”) found on or through the Service or a hyperlinked site, service or platform. All such communication, interaction and participation is strictly and solely between you and such Advertisers and we shall not be responsible or liable to you in any way in connection with these activities or transactions (including, without limitation, any representations, warranties, covenants, contracts or other terms or conditions that may exist between you and the Advertisers or any goods or services you may purchase or obtain from any Advertiser).

  12. Termination

    You may terminate this Agreement at any time by emailing us at feedback@haystack.tv with a request to delete your User Profile, and thereafter ceasing to use the Service. Simply deleting the Service from your mobile or television device will not effectively terminate this Agreement.

    Haystack may suspend your access to the Service and/or terminate this Agreement at any time if (i) you are deemed to be a repeat copyright infringer; (ii) you are in breach of any of the material provision of these Terms of Use; (iii) Haystack elects at its discretion to cease providing access to the Service in the jurisdiction where you reside or from where you are attempting to access the Service, or (iv) in other reasonable circumstances as determined by Haystack at its discretion.

    Once your account has been terminated, any and all Content residing in your account, or pertaining to activity from your account, may be irretrievably deleted by Haystack, except to the extent that we are obliged or permitted to retain such Content, data or information for a certain period of time in accordance with applicable laws and regulations and/or to protect our legitimate business interests. You are advised to save or back up any material that you have uploaded to your account before terminating your account, as Haystack assumes no liability for any material that is irretrievably deleted following any termination of your account.

    The provisions of these Terms of Use that are intended by their nature to survive the termination or cancellation of this Agreement will survive the termination of this Agreement.

  13. Disclaimers of Warranties and Limitations on Liability

    THE HAYSTACK SERVICE, INCLUDING THE APPLICATION AND USER INTERFACES, AND ALL CONTENT AND SOFTWARE ASSOCIATED THEREWITH, OR ANY OTHER FEATURES OR FUNCTIONALITIES ASSOCIATED WITH THE HAYSTACK SERVICE, ARE PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE" WITH ALL FAULTS AND WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND. WE AND OUR LICENSORS MAKE NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND WITH RESPECT TO THE HAYSTACK SERVICE, THE SERVICE AND USER INTERFACES, AND ALL CONTENT AND SOFTWARE ASSOCIATED THEREWITH. HAYSTACK DOES NOT GUARANTEE, REPRESENT, OR WARRANT THAT YOUR USE OF THE HAYSTACK SERVICE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED OR ERROR-FREE, AND YOU AGREE THAT HAYSTACK MAY ELIMINATE OR OTHERWISE MODIFY ANY OR ALL ASPECTS OF THE HAYSTACK SERVICE, INCLUDING FEATURES, WITHOUT COMPENSATION OR NOTICE TO YOU. Without limiting the foregoing, we and our licensors assume no liability or responsibility for any of the following: (i) errors or omissions in the Content delivered by the Haystack service or on the Service or user interfaces; (ii) recommendations or advice of Haystack customer service representatives; (iii) any failure or interruption in the availability of the Haystack service and/or website or user interfaces, (iv) delivery and or display of any Content contained on the Service, user interfaces, or otherwise through the Haystack service; and (v) any losses or damages arising from the use of the Content provided on the Service, user interfaces, or otherwise through the Haystack service itself, including any losses or damages arising from downloading of related software, downloading and/or use of any other software, including the remote desktop tool offered by Haystack’s customer service representatives, optical media discs or any conduct by users of the Haystack service, the Service or user interfaces. TO THE EXTENT ALLOWABLE BY LAW, WE AND OUR LICENSORS DISCLAIM ALL REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, FOR EXAMPLE, WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, SATISFACTORY QUALITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. In addition, we do not represent or warrant that the information accessible via the Service is accurate, complete or current. We do not make any representations with respect to the Content or the descriptions of any Content contained on the Service and user interfaces. We do not represent or guarantee that your use of the Haystack service will be free from interruption, loss, corruption, attack, viruses, interference, hacking, or other security intrusion and we disclaim any liability with respect thereto. No oral or written information or advice given by us or our authorized representative shall create a warranty or otherwise constitute a representation binding upon Haystack or its affiliated parties.

    IN NO EVENT SHALL HAYSTACK, OR ITS SUBSIDIARIES OR ANY OF THEIR SHAREHOLDERS, DIRECTORS, OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES OR LICENSORS BE LIABLE (JOINTLY OR SEVERALLY) TO YOU FOR PERSONAL INJURY OR ANY SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, INDIRECT OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OF ANY KIND, OR ANY DAMAGES WHATSOEVER RESULTING FROM LOSS OF USE, DATA OR PROFITS, BUSINESS INTERRUPTION OR ANY OTHER COMMERCIAL DAMAGES OR LOSS, WHETHER OR NOT ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF DAMAGE, AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE USE OR PERFORMANCE OF THE HAYSTACK SERVICE, THE SERVICE AND USER INTERFACES, AND ALL CONTENTS AND SOFTWARE ASSOCIATED THEREWITH, OR OTHERWISE RELATED TO THE HAYSTACK SERVICE. IF ANY APPLICABLE AUTHORITY HOLDS ANY PORTION OF THIS SECTION OR OTHER SECTIONS OF THESE TERMS OF USE, INCLUDING ANY PORTION OF THE PRIVACY POLICY, TO BE UNENFORCEABLE, THEN THOSE PORTIONS DEEMED UNENFORCEABLE SHALL BE SEVERED AND THE TERMS OF USE SHALL BE ENFORCED ABSENT THOSE PROVISIONS AND ANY LIABILITY WILL BE LIMITED TO ONE DOLLAR (U.S. $1.00) OR THE FULLEST POSSIBLE EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW.

  14. Indemnification

    You hereby agree to indemnify, defend and hold harmless Haystack, its successors, assigns, affiliates, agents, directors, officers, employees and shareholders from and against any and all claims, obligations, damages, losses, expenses, and costs, including reasonable attorneys’ fees and court costs, resulting from: (1) any violation by you of these Terms of Use; and (2) any activity related to your account, be it by you or by any other person accessing your account with or without your consent unless such activity was caused by the act or default of Haystack.

  15. Assignment to Third Parties

    Haystack may assign, license, or sub-license its rights and (where permissible by law) its obligations under this Agreement, in whole or in part, to any third party at any time without notice, including without limitation, to any person or entity acquiring all or substantially all of the assets or business of Haystack. You may not assign this Agreement or the rights and duties hereunder, in whole or in part, to any third party without the prior written consent of Haystack.

  16. Severability

    Should one or more provisions of these Terms of Use be found to be unlawful, void or unenforceable, such provision(s) shall be deemed severable and will not affect the validity and/or enforceability of the remaining provisions of the Terms of Use, which will remain in full force and effect.

  17. Entire Agreement

    These Terms of Use, together with the Privacy Policy, constitute the entire agreement between you and Haystack with respect to your use of the Service and supersede any prior agreement between you and Haystack. Any modifications to this Agreement must be made in writing.

  18. Arbitration Agreement

    You and Haystack agree that any dispute, claim or controversy arising out of or relating in any way to the Haystack service, including our website, user interfaces, and these Terms of Use, shall be determined by binding arbitration instead of in courts of general jurisdiction. Arbitration is more informal than a lawsuit in court. Arbitration uses a neutral arbitrator instead of a judge or jury, allows for more limited discovery than in court, and is subject to very limited review by courts. Arbitrators can award the same damages and relief that a court can award. You agree that, by agreeing to these Terms of Use, the U.S. Federal Arbitration Act governs the interpretation and enforcement of this provision, and that you and Haystack are each waiving the right to a trial by jury or to participate in a class action. This arbitration provision shall survive termination of this Agreement and the termination of your use of the Service.

    If you elect to seek arbitration, you must first send to Haystack, by certified mail, a written Notice of your claim (“Notice”). If Haystack elects to seek arbitration, it will send a written Notice to the email address used for your membership account. A Notice, whether sent by you or by Haystack, must (a) describe the nature and basis of the claim or dispute; and (b) set forth the specific relief sought (“Demand”). If Haystack and you do not reach an agreement to resolve the claim within 30 days after the Notice is received, you or Haystack may commence an arbitration proceeding or file a claim in small claims court. During the arbitration, the amount of any settlement offer made by Haystack or you shall not be disclosed to the arbitrator. You may download or copy a form Notice and a form to initiate arbitration at www.adr.org. The arbitration will be governed by the Commercial Arbitration Rules and the Supplementary Procedures for Consumer Related Disputes (collectively, "AAA Rules") of the American Arbitration Association ("AAA"), as modified by this Agreement, and will be administered by the AAA. The AAA Rules and Forms are available online at www.adr.org, by calling the AAA at 1-800-778-7879, or by writing to Haystack. The arbitrator is bound by the terms of this Agreement. All issues are for the arbitrator to decide, including issues relating to the scope and enforceability of this arbitration agreement. Unless Haystack and you agree otherwise, any arbitration hearings will take place in the county (or parish) of your billing address. (If you reside outside of the United States, any arbitration hearings will take place in your country of residence at a location reasonably convenient to you, but will remain subject to the AAA Rules including the AAA rules regarding the selection of an arbitrator). If your claim is for US$10,000 or less, we agree that you may choose whether the arbitration will be conducted solely on the basis of documents submitted to the arbitrator, through a telephonic hearing, or by an in-person hearing as established by the AAA Rules. If your claim exceeds US$10,000, the right to a hearing will be determined by the AAA Rules. Regardless of the manner in which the arbitration is conducted, the arbitrator shall issue a reasoned written decision sufficient to explain the essential findings and conclusions on which the award is based. If the arbitrator issues you an award that is greater than the value of Haystack’s last written settlement offer made before an arbitrator was selected (or if Haystack did not make a settlement offer before an arbitrator was selected), then Haystack will pay you the amount of the award or US$1,000, whichever is greater. Except as expressly set forth herein, the payment of all filing, administration and arbitrator fees will be governed by the AAA Rules.

    YOU AND HAYSTACK AGREE THAT EACH MAY BRING CLAIMS AGAINST THE OTHER ONLY IN YOUR OR ITS INDIVIDUAL CAPACITY, AND NOT AS A PLAINTIFF OR CLASS MEMBER IN ANY PURPORTED CLASS OR REPRESENTATIVE PROCEEDING. Further, unless both you and Haystack agree otherwise, the arbitrator may not consolidate more than one person's claims with your claims, and may not otherwise preside over any form of a representative or class proceeding. If this specific provision is found to be unenforceable, then the entirety of this arbitration provision shall be null and void. The arbitrator may award declaratory or injunctive relief only in favor of the individual party seeking relief and only to the extent necessary to provide relief warranted by that party's individual claim.

  19. Governing Law

    These Terms of Use shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of California, U.S.A. without regard to conflict of laws provisions. The exclusive jurisdiction and venue for any action, suit or proceeding based upon any matter arising hereunder or relating hereto shall be in the state or federal courts located in the State of California. If any provision or provisions of these terms shall be held to be invalid, illegal, unenforceable or in conflict with the law of any jurisdiction, the validity, legality and enforceability of the remaining provisions shall not in any way be affected or impaired thereby, and shall remain in full force and effect.


Haystack TV Privacy Policy


Last modified: March 30, 2023

Welcome to Haystack, a service provided by Haystack TV, Inc. (hereinafter “Haystack”, “us” or “we”). Haystack knows that you care about how your personally identifiable information is used and shared, and we take your privacy seriously. Personally identifiable information is information that identifies, relates to, describes, references, is reasonably capable of being associated with, or could reasonably be linked, directly or indirectly, with a particular consumer, household, or device (hereinafter “Personal Information”). Personal information does not include publicly available information from government records or deidentified or aggregated consumer information. This privacy policy (“Privacy Policy”) explains how we collect, store, use, and disclose your Personal Information when you use our website, applications (across all platforms, including mobile, desktop, television, etc.), and any other linked pages, features, or content, including all features and functionalities, user interfaces, and all content and software associated therewith (hereinafter collectively, the “Service”).

This Privacy Policy covers Haystack’s treatment of Personal Information that Haystack gathers when you are accessing textual and/or media content (the “Content”) and/or using our Service. This policy does not apply to the practices of companies that Haystack does not own or control, or to individuals that Haystack does not employ or manage. When using this Service, you may find links to other websites, apps and services, or tools that enable you to share information with other websites, apps and services. Haystack is not responsible for the privacy practices of these other websites, apps and services and we recommend that you review the privacy policies of each of these websites, apps or services before connecting your Haystack account or sharing any Personal Information.

By using our applications, or in any other way using the Service you acknowledge that you accept the use of your Personal Information and the practices and policies outlined in this Privacy Policy. Please take the time to read this Privacy Policy and make sure you are content with our use and disclosure of your Personal Information. If you do not agree to any of the provisions of this Privacy Policy, you should not use the Service. If you have questions or concerns, you can contact us at contact@haystack.tv .

  1. User Age Restrictions

    Haystack is not intended for use by children. Anyone under the age of 16 is not permitted to use the Service and must not attempt to register an account or submit any Personal Information to us. We do not knowingly collect any Personal Information from any person who is under the age of 16 or allow them to register an account. If it comes to our attention that we have collected Personal Information from a person under the age of 16, we will delete this information as quickly as possible. If you have reason to believe that we may have collected any such data, please notify use immediately at contact@haystack.tv .

  1. What Personal Information Does Haystack Collect?

    The Personal Information we gather from our Users enables us to personalize and improve our services and to allow our Users to set up a user profile (“User Profile”) if they wish to do so. We collect the following types of information from our Users:

    1. Personal Information You Provide to Us

      In order to create a User Profile you must connect through third party platforms, such as through your Facebook or your Google account (each a “Third Party Platform”). Such Third Party Platforms will provide us with information about you described in Personal Information Collected From Other Sources below. Furthermore, in the event that you opt in to a Haystack TV Premium subscription, you will also be required to either (i) provide credit card information and a valid billing address or (ii) link your User Profile to your Google Pay, Apple Pay, or PayPal account.

      You may choose, at your discretion, to provide additional Personal Information to Haystack, such as your interests. This information is not mandatory, and any information you provide may be deleted, edited, amended, or changed at any time. For more information, please see the Access, Choice and Control section below.

      You will also provide certain Personal Information if you open an email or similar digital communication from Haystack, or contact us via email or other communication (including, but not limited to, mail, fax, phone, or other offline means). Haystack uses this information to make our communications more interesting and helpful and to improve our Service. If you do not wish to receive email or other communications from us, please see the Access, Choice and Control section below.

    1. Personal Information Collected Automatically

      We receive and store certain types of information as a result of your interaction with our Service, or through the use of web analytics services as described in our Cookies and Similar Technology section. Haystack automatically receives and records information on our server logs from your browser including:

      1. The Internet Protocol (“IP”) address of the device from which you access the Service (which can sometimes be used to derive the country or city from which you are accessing the Service);

      2. Information collected through cookies and similar technology;

      3. The page you requested and the page that you visited immediately prior to visiting the Service;

      4. The specific actions you take on the Service and any search terms you may enter on the Service;

      5. The time, frequency, and duration of your visits to the Service;

      6. Your browser type, operating system and mobile provider;

      7. The nature of the device from which you are accessing the Service, for example, whether you are accessing from a personal computer or from a mobile device; and

      8. Information regarding your interaction with messages, for example, whether you opened, clicked on, or forwarded the message.

    1. Personal Information Collected From Other Sources

      In the event you connect your accounts from a Third Party Platform, such as Facebook or Google, to the Service, then we will receive certain information, which information may be used to instantly personalize your account with the Service. The information that Haystack may access, collect and store may include the following, among other information, as allowed by you, by the third party API (for example, Facebook’s API):

      1. Your name

      2. Your profile picture

      3. Your email address

      4. Your gender

      5. Your birthday

      6. Your location

      7. The names and pictures of your friends, followers, persons you follow, pages you like, or other connections on such third party site.

      8. Your interests and affinity networks.

      9. Other information you make publicly available on such third party site.

      The privacy practices of Third Party Platforms are not governed by this Privacy Notice. We encourage you to review the privacy policies of these third-party websites and services to understand their practices.

  1. Cookies and Similar Technology

    Like many services, we use cookies and tracking pixels. Cookies are a service or website’s way of remembering who you are. A cookie is a small text file that is stored on your device’s hard drive or stored temporarily in your device’s memory. There are two kinds of cookies: those that are “session” oriented and those that are “persistent.” Session cookies delete from your device when you close your browser. Persistent cookies retain information for later use tomorrow, next week, next month, or whenever they are set to expire. We use cookies to help us to identify Users and to optimize their experience on our Service. We may also use cookies in order to deliver targeted advertising. We may use both first and third party cookies. First party cookies belong to us and third party cookies are ones that another party places on your device. Third party cookies may be used by companies providing a service to us or by business partners in order to advertise to you. By using your device or web browser’s settings, or both, you may modify your cookie settings. Please note, when you disable cookies you may not be able to access certain parts of the Service or the Service may not work properly.

    To learn more about how advertisers generally use cookies and the choices advertisers provide, visit:

    1. The Network Advertising Initiative at http://www.networkadvertising.org/managing/opt_out.asp

    2. The Digital Advertising Alliance at http://www.aboutads.info/

    3. The Internet Advertising Bureau (US) at http://www.iab.net/

    We also allow advertisers and/or merchant partners (“Advertisers”) to choose the demographic information of users who will see their advertisements and/or promotional offers and you agree that we may provide any of the information we have collected from you in non-personally identifiable form to an Advertiser, in order for that Advertiser to select the appropriate audience for those advertisements and/or offers. We, and these Advertisers, may use both first and third party cookies to inform, optimize and serve advertisements based on your use of the Service and any demographic information collected through your use of the Services. For example, we might use the fact you are located in a specific city to show you advertisements targeted to that city.

    To do so these advertisers may place or recognize a unique “web beacon” on your browser or device (including through the use of pixel tags). These web beacons allow ad networks to provide anonymized, aggregated auditing, research and reporting for us and for advertisers. The web beacons also enable ad networks to serve targeted advertisements to you when you visit other sites, or re-target you on our site. Because your web browser or device must request these advertisements and web beacons from the ad network’s servers, these companies can view, edit, or set their own web beacons, just as if you had requested a web page from their site. You may be able to opt-out of web beacon tracking by adjusting the settings on your browser or device. For instance many devices have a “Do Not Track” setting that you can be turned on.

    Some of these advertisers, advertising technology companies, and service providers that perform advertising-related services for us and our business partners may be members of the Network Advertising Initiative ("NAI"), a cooperative of online marketing companies that offers a centralized tool for opting out of behavioral advertising delivered by each of its member companies. See http://www.networkadvertising.org for general information about the NAI and http://www.networkadvertising.org/managing/opt_out.asp for the opt-out page. You may also visit http://www.aboutads.info/consumers/ to learn about interest-based advertising and how to opt-out from ads served by some or all participating companies.

    These opt-out mechanisms rely on cookies to remember your choices. If you delete your cookies or web beacons, use another computer or device, or change browsers, you will need to repeat this process. In addition, opting out of interest-based ads will not opt you out of all ads, but rather only those ads that are personalized to your interests.

  1. How Does Haystack Use the Personal Information We Collect?

    Personal Information about our Users is an integral part of our business. Haystack uses the Personal Information that we collect about you for the following purposes:

    1. To identify you as a User of the Service when you login to your User Profile.

    2. To customize and personalize the Content provided to you.

    3. To process payment for a Haystack TV Premium subscription.

    4. Your email address may be used to send you service updates and notifications regarding your account, newsletters, marketing communications, and certain email notifications. For information on how to change your preferences, and to unsubscribe from various Haystack communications, please see the Access, Choice and Control section below.

    Your Personal Information is also used for the following general purposes:

    1. To operate and maintain your Haystack account, and to provide you with access to the Service that you may request from time to time;

    2. To provide you with technical support;

    3. To respond to you about any comment or inquiry you have submitted;

    4. To customize your use of the Service and/or content of any email or other material we may send you from time to time;

    5. To conduct research and analysis, and to improve our marketing efforts. For example, through targeted advertising and marketing on third party platforms;

    6. To prevent or take action against activities that are, or may be, in breach of our Terms of Use or applicable law; and

    7. For other purposes, provided that we disclose this to you at a relevant time.

  1. How Does Haystack Share Your Personal Information?

    Unless listed in this Privacy Policy, Haystack only uses Personal Information in aggregate form, that is, as a statistical measure, and not in a manner that would identify you personally. This type of aggregate data enables us to figure out how often Users use parts of the Service so that we can make the Service appealing to as many Users as possible, and improve those services. As part of this use of information, we may provide aggregate information to our partners, our advertisers, and other third parties about how our Users collectively use our Service. We share this type of statistical data so that the aforementioned parties may also understand how often people use their services and our Service, so that they, too, may provide you with an optimal experience. Haystack never discloses aggregate information in a manner that would reveal your email address or contact information, or in a manner that would identify you individually, either online or in real life.

    There are circumstances where we need to share some of the Personal Information we collect about you or which you provide to us:

    1. We will disclose your Personal Information if you have explicitly agreed that we may do so. We will make this clear to you at the point at which we collect your Personal Information or at another time prior to disclosure of the information.

    2. We will disclose your Personal Information if we believe in good faith that we are permitted or required to do so by law, including in response to a court order, subpoena or other legal demand or request.

    3. We may disclose your Personal Information if we feel it is necessary in order to protect or defend our legitimate rights, property, and interests, or those of our Users, employees, directors, shareholders, or any other third party, and/or to ensure the safety and security of the Service and/or the Users community.

    4. We may transfer your Personal Information to any person or company that acquires all or substantially all of Haystack, or on a merger of our business or in the case of our insolvency. You acknowledge that such transfers may occur, and that any transferee may continue to use your Personal Information as set forth in this Privacy Policy.

    5. We may disclose your Personal Information to fulfill the purpose for which you provide it. For example, if you give us an email address to use the "email a friend" feature of our Service, we will transmit the contents of that email and your email address to the recipients.

    6. We may disclose your Personal Information to contractors, service providers, and other third parties we use to support our business and who are bound by contractual obligations to keep personal information confidential and use it only for the purposes for which we disclose it to them.

  1. Security

    We have implemented measures designed to secure your personal information from accidental loss and from unauthorized access, use, alteration, and disclosure. All information you provide to us is stored on our secure servers behind firewalls. Any payment transactions and confidential information will be encrypted using SSL technology with DDoS protection.

    Haystack endeavors to protect User account information to ensure that account information is kept private, however, Haystack cannot guarantee the security of User account information. Unauthorized entry or use, hardware or software failure, and other factors, may compromise the security of user information at any time.

    The safety and security of your information also depends on you. Where we have given you (or where you have chosen) a password for access to certain parts of our Service, you are responsible for keeping this password confidential. We ask you not to share your password with anyone.

    The Service may contain links to other sites. Haystack is not responsible for the privacy policies and/or practices on other sites. When linking to another site you should read the privacy policy state on that site. This Privacy Policy only governs information collected on the Service.

  1. Retention, Access, Choice and Control

    We maintain data related to your usage of the Service for as long as it is required in order to fulfill the relevant purposes described in this Privacy Policy, as may be required (or permitted) by law such as for tax and accounting purposes, or as otherwise communicated to you. Once you have asked us to close your account and delete your profile information, we will delete all information that we are not required or permitted to retain by law.

    You can always opt not to disclose information, even though it may be needed to take advantage of certain features of the Service. You are able to add or update certain information in your account settings, as well as on User Profile. When you update your information, however, we often maintain a copy of the unrevised information in our records. You can unsubscribe from email newsletters and notifications (other than essential email notifications) at any time by clicking on the link at the end of each email.

    As a Haystack User, you have the right to review and obtain a downloadable copy of your Personal Information from Haystack, to request corrections to your Personal Information, and to request deletion of your Personal Information from Haystack. We may not accommodate a request to change information if we believe the change would violate any law or legal requirement or cause the information to be incorrect. You may also withdraw your consent to receive e-mail communications from us at any time. You may withdraw your consent to our collection, use, and sharing of your Personal Information at any time by sending an e-mail request to contact@haystack.tv .

    From time to time, we may desire to use Personal Information for uses not previously disclosed in our Privacy Policy. If our practices change regarding previously collected Personal Information, we will provide notice and obtain consent to any such uses as may be required by law.

  1. Deleting Your Account

    You may terminate this Agreement at any time by deleting your User Profile (if applicable), and thereafter ceasing to use the Service. Simply deleting the Service from your mobile device will not effectively terminate this Agreement. If you ask us to delete your User Profile, we will do so within a reasonable period of time.

    Once your account has been terminated, any and all information within your account will be irretrievably deleted by Haystack, except to the extent that we are obliged or permitted to retain such data or information for a certain period of time in accordance with applicable laws and regulations and/or to protect our legitimate business interests. You are advised to save or back up any material that you have uploaded to your account before terminating your account, as Haystack assumes no liability for any material that is irretrievably deleted following any termination of your account.

  1. Notice to Users Outside the U.S.

    Our Service is controlled and operated within the United States. If you access our Service outside of the United States, we may transfer the information collected from you to data centers outside of your home country or jurisdiction. In particular, your information may be transferred to and processed in the United States and other jurisdictions where we, our service providers, or our vendors operate, where data protection and other laws may not be equivalent to those in your jurisdiction. By using the Service, you agree that your information can be transferred to and used in the United States and in other jurisdictions where we, our service providers, or our vendors operate, as set forth in the Privacy Policy.

    NOTICE TO EU RESIDENTS: In addition to this Privacy Policy, our handling of information about EU residents is further governed by the Notice to EU Residents (below).

  1. Changes and Updates to this Privacy Policy

    Haystack reserves the right to change, alter, replace or otherwise modify this Privacy Policy at any time by posting the amended Privacy Policy on or within the Service. You may also be given additional notice, such as an e-mail message or messaging within the Service, of any changes. You will be deemed to have accepted such changes by continuing to use the Service. Except as otherwise stated, all amended terms shall automatically be effective 30 days after they are initially posted

  1. Merger or Sale

    In the event that Haystack TV, or some or all assets related to the Services are acquired by or merged with a third-party entity or in connection with a contemplated change of ownership transaction, we reserve the right, in any of these circumstances, to transfer or assign the information that we have collected from users as part of that merger, acquisition, sale, or other change of control event, including in the course of diligence.

  1. Questions or Concerns

    If you have any questions or concerns regarding privacy at Haystack, please send us a detailed message to contact@haystack.tv . We will make every effort to resolve your concerns.

    If you decide that you do not want us to use your Personal Information in the manner described in the Privacy Policy, please do not use the Service. If you have already registered an account, you can find out how to terminate or cancel your account in the Deleting Your Account section above.

  1. Notice to Residents of California, Nevada, and Virginia Only

    If you are a resident of California, Nevada, and Virginia, the processing of certain personal data about you may be subject to the California Consumer Privacy Act (“CCPA”) and other applicable state privacy laws from California, Nevada, and Virginia.

    For the purposes of this section, “personal information” means “personal data”, “personal information” or similar terms under the applicable privacy laws of the state in which you reside. Please note that not all of the rights listed below are applicable to all users, and if you are not a resident of the applicable states, you may not be able to exercise these rights.

    In particular, you may have the following rights, however, these rights are not absolute and in certain cases, we may decline your request as permitted by law.

    • Know: The right to request that we disclose the Personal Information we collect, use, or disclose about you, and information about our data practices. As a California resident, you may request information about the categories of personal information that we have collected; the categories of sources from which we collected personal information; the business or commercial purpose for collecting, sharing and/or selling personal information; the categories of any personal information that we sold or disclosed for a business purpose; and the categories of any third parties with whom personal information was sold, shared or disclosed for a business purpose;

    • Access: The right to request copies of your personal information that we have collected about you;

    • Correction: The right to request that we correct any inaccurate personal information that we have collected about you;

    • Request Deletion: The right to request that we delete Personal Information that we have collected from you;

    • Opt Out: The right to opt out of (i) tracking activities for targeted advertising purposes, (ii) sales of your personal information, and (iii) certain “profiling” as defined in applicable privacy laws, which may include automated processing to analyze or predict your interests or other behavior;

    • Non-Discrimination: You have the right to not be discriminated against for exercising any of these rights. For example, if you exercise your rights, we will not deny you services, charge you different prices for services or provide you a different level or quality of services.

    California residents who are 16 years of age and older have the additional right:

    • Opt-Out: You have the right to opt out of the sale of your Personal Information by us.

      1. We will not sell the Personal Information of consumers we actually know are less than 16 years of age, unless we receive affirmative authorization (the “right to opt-in”) from either the consumer who is at least 13 but not yet 16 years of age, or the parent or guardian of a consumer less than 13 years of age; and

      2. Consumers who opt-in to Personal Information sales may opt-out of future sales at any time.

    • As previously stated, Haystack is not intended for use by anyone under the age of 16, and anyone under the age of 16 is not permitted to use the Service and must not attempt to register an account or submit any Personal Information to us. We do not knowingly collect any Personal Information from any person who is under the age of 16 or allow them to register an account. If it comes to our attention that we have collected Personal Information from a person under the age of 16, we will delete this information as quickly as possible. If you have reason to believe that we may have collected any such data, please notify use immediately at contact@haystack.tv .

    This Privacy Policy includes what Personal Information we may have collected about you over the past 12 months (depending on how you use our Service), the source of the Personal Information, and the purposes of use, as well as whether we disclose that Personal Information and if so, the categories of third parties to whom it is disclosed.

    In particular, we have collected the following categories of Personal Information from consumers within the last 12 months:

    Category

    Information We Actually Collect

    Collected

    Identifiers.

    We collect names, alias, unique personal identifier, online identifier, Internet Protocol address, email address, account name, or other similar identifiers.

    YES

    Personal Information categories listed in the California Customer Records statute (Cal. Civ. Code § 1798.80(e)).

    Some Personal Information included in this category may overlap with other categories. If you are member, we may collect all or part of your name. If you are a premium member, we may collect your billing address and partial (but not full) debit card numbers and/or credit card numbers.

    YES

    Protected classification characteristics under California or federal law.

    None

    NO

    Commercial information.

    We collect records of purchases of premium subscriptions.

    YES

    Biometric Information

    We collect behavioral information, such as keystrokes, links, screens, and videos accessed by you from our service, which device you are using to access our service.

    YES

    Internet or other similar network activity.

    Browsing history, search history, information on a consumer's interaction with a website, application, or advertisement.

    YES

    Geolocation data.

    We collect the physical location of users in order to serve locally relevant content and ads.

    YES

    Professional or employment-related information.

    None

    NO

    Non-public education information (per the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (20 U.S.C. Section 1232g, 34 C.F.R. Part 99)).

    None

    NO

    Inferences drawn from other Personal Information.

    Profile reflecting a person’s news preferences

    YES

    We obtain the categories of Personal Information listed above from the following categories of sources:

    • Directly from you. For example, from forms you complete or products and services you purchase.

    • Indirectly from you. For example, from observing your actions on our Service.

    • Via third party integrations such as social sign in services

    If you are a California resident, California law may provide you with additional rights regarding our use of your Personal Information. To learn more about your California privacy rights, visit https://oag.ca.gov/privacy/ccpa .

  1. Exercising Your State Privacy Rights

    California residents can exercise the above rights themselves, or designate and authorized agent to make requests on their behalf. To either exercise your rights or to have an authorized agent (as applicable) request to do so, please email us at contact@haystack.tv and provide sufficient information that allows us to reasonably verify you are the person about whom we collected Personal Information or an authorized representative, which may include: your name, user id, email, or billing address.

    We may request additional documentation or information solely for the purpose of verifying your identity before completing your request. An authorized agent must have your signed permission to submit a request on your behalf or provide proof that they have power of attorney in accordance with California law. Before completing a request from an authorized agent, we may contact you directly to confirm your identity and/or to confirm that you’ve given the agent permission to act on your behalf.

    If you want to make a request, but do not have an account with us, we will ask you for information which we consider necessary to verify your identity for security and to prevent fraud. This information may include name, contact information, and information related to your transaction or relationship with us, but the specific information requested may differ depending on the circumstances of your request for your security and to protect privacy rights. If we delete your Personal Information, we will both cause certain Personal Information about you to be permanently unrecoverable and also deidentify certain Personal Information.

  1. Notice to EU Residents

    In addition to the practices and rights discussed in this Privacy Policy, residents of the EU have certain additional rights and guidelines.

    What are your data protection rights?

    We would like to make sure you are fully aware of all of your data protection rights. If you are a resident of the EU, you are entitled to the following:

    • The right to be informed – You have the right to know what Personal Information we are processing, why, and who else the data may be passed to.

    • The right to access – You have the right to request for copies of your Personal Information. We may charge you a small fee for this service.

    • The right to rectification – You have the right to request that we correct any information you believe is inaccurate. You also have the right to request us to complete the information you believe is incomplete.

    • The right to erasure – You have the right to request that we erase your Personal Information, under certain conditions.

    • The right to restrict processing – You have the right to request that we restrict the processing of your Personal Information, under certain conditions.

    • The right to object to processing – You have the right to object to our company’s processing of your Personal Information, under certain conditions.

    • The right to data portability – You have the right to request that our company transfer the data that we have collected to another organization, or directly to you, under certain conditions.

    Lawful Basis for the Processing of Personal Information

    Haystack is required to demonstrate a lawful basis for the processing of Personal Information. Haystack relies on legitimate interest to process data for the following purposes:

    • Data analytics

    • Managing user accounts

    • Operating, modifying and improving the Service

    • Identifying usage trends

    • Customizing content and user experience

    • Web hosting

    • Direct marketing

    • Fraud prevention

    • Network and information systems security

    • To determine the effectiveness of ads

    • To serve ads based on user behavior and preferences

    • Responding to user questions and requests for information

    • Comply with laws and regulations and enforce Haystack’s Terms of Use and other legal rights

    Transfer of Data Abroad

    Because we operate the Service from the US, your Personal Information may be transferred to the US and/or to countries or territories outside the EEA or Switzerland not recognized by the European Commission as ensuring an adequate level of protection pursuant to the GDPR. Where required, data transfers will be made subject to the terms of the applicable EU Standard Contractual Clauses or with your consent. We will take all steps reasonably necessary to ensure that Personal Information is treated securely and in accordance with this Privacy Policy in respect of such transfer.

    Security

    Haystack employs physical, technical and organizational safeguards to ensure an appropriate level of security for Personal Information, taking into account the costs of implementation and the nature, scope, context and purposes of processing as well as the risk of varying likelihood and security for the rights and freedoms of natural persons,

    Further Processing

    If Haystack plans to use Personal Information for a new purpose, it will update this notice and communicate the changes to individuals before starting any new processing.

    If you have concerns about the way we handle your Personal Information, please let us know immediately. If you would like to make a request and/or exercise any of the above rights, please contact us at our email: contact@haystack.tv .