Provens Privacy Policy
Our Commitment to Your Privacy
Protecting your information is important to us. We strive to do business in a manner that justifies you choosing Provens.
This Privacy Policy explains the types of information we may collect from and about you or your business, how we may use or disclose that information, and how we protect that information. This Privacy Policy also sets forth our general practices and principles that apply to information we collect through the following products and services:
- Our online and software tax preparation products and services;
- Our website; and
- Our mobile applications that incorporate this Privacy Policy.
If you have any question relating to this Privacy Policy, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Special Note to Parents: Because of the nature of the services we provide, we do not knowingly market our services to children, nor do we collect information from children. Our website does not contain any material that would knowingly be inappropriate to children.
Who This Privacy Policy Covers
This policy applies to personal and business information we collect when we provide tax preparation and other products and services to customers and former customers of Provens. This policy does not apply to our affiliates or our franchisees. These companies may be subject to different regulations and may have different operating practices. If you are doing business with these companies, you should consult their respective privacy policies.
Information We Collect
We collect information, including personal information, about you, your spouse, your dependents, your business, and other individuals (such as employees as part of providing business services) when you use our services. This information includes, but is not limited to:
- Contact Information (e.g., name, phone number, address, and email address);
- Tax File Numbers and other government identification numbers;
- Dates of Birth;
- Financial Information (e.g., income, revenue, assets, credits, deductions, expenses and bank account information);
- Payment Data (e.g., checking, debit and credit card account numbers, balances and payment history);
- Geo-Location Information;
- Website, Mobile Application, and Email Usage Data;
- Login Information; and
- Demographic Information.
We collect this information from the following sources:
- We collect information directly from you. We collect information you voluntarily provide as part of using or requesting our services. This information includes information you provide as part of preparing your tax return, electronically filing your tax return, authenticating your identity, or applying for or purchasing a product or service. If you choose not to provide certain information we request, we may be unable to serve you as our products, services, tools or calculators may rely upon this information.
Our website may make chat rooms, forums, message boards, and/or news groups available. Please remember that any information disclosed in these areas becomes public information, and you should exercise caution when disclosing personal information in these applications.
- We collect information when you use our services. We collect certain information and usage data whenever you interact with us, whether in our offices, online, through a mobile application, or when you view an email. This data may include websites you visit, what you click on, and when you performed those actions. These activities may be performed by us or a service provider acting on our behalf.
We utilize certain web and wireless technologies to collect this information. These technologies include cookies and web beacons. Please see “Types of Web and Wireless Technologies (including Cookies) We Use” for an in-depth discussion of these technologies and how to opt-out.
The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) or state taxing authorities may require we collect certain personal and system information in connection with preparing or electronically filing your tax return. This may include your name, tax file number, IP addresses, and unique device identifiers.
- We collect information from other companies and government entities. In accordance with their privacy notices, our affiliates, our business partners, Provens franchisees, and non-affiliated third-parties (including the ATO and credit reporting agencies) may share certain information about you with us.
We also collect information when you request services or information from us or companies with whom we have a business relationship, enter contests or sweepstakes, or complete surveys or polls.
To improve the security of our services, to protect your identity, and to protect your information, we may verify your personal information by matching the information you provide against other publicly available information that we obtain from identification verification companies.
How We May Use Your Information
We use your information to provide you the products and services you request. We may also use your information, as permitted by law, to service and report on your account and to offer you relevant information, products, or services. These activities may be performed by us or a service provider acting on our behalf.
- Offer You Products and Services. We may use your information to contact you about products and services offered by us or our affiliate companies. This may include delivery of our or our affiliate’s newsletters or publications.
- Geo-Location Uses. We may use your location to provide you a list of nearby Provens offices, assess the level of interest in our services in a particular area, and enhance the services we are providing you and other clients. You may at any time revoke our collection of this information by turning this off at the device level and not using our office locator.
- Mobile Devices. When you use a mobile device, we may ask your permission to dial a phone number, access your camera or photo library, access the internet, access your calendar, push notifications to you, read and write to internal and external storage, wake/lock your mobile device, and authorize in-app purchases.
- Security Enhancements. We may use publicly available information to verify your personal information in order to improve the security of our services, protect your identity, and protect your information.
- Unique Identifiers. We may assign you a global unique identifier (GUID) when you use our services. The GUID is a unique alphanumeric combination. The GUID allows us to match your information, which may include personal information, with data collected through our other products and services. Generally, we use this information to help us better understand your use of our products and services.
- Calculators and Tools. When you use our calculators and other tools, we may collect non-identifiable data, such as the number of people that use a certain tool. We may also set cookies or clear gifs based upon your use so that you do not have to re-enter your information in a later visit and to help us customize offers and tools to your particular interests. For our calculators and other tools that require registration or ask for your contact information, we may contact you directly with relevant services and offers.
- Contest/Promotions and Surveys. We may elect to administer contests and online surveys where we will ask you for contact information, such as your e-mail address and demographic information. This information is used to verify your identity, determine your eligibility for special programs or services that we may offer and complete our transactions with you.
How We May Disclose Your Information
We may disclose your information as described below:
- Affiliates. As permitted by law, we may provide information we collect to our affiliates. Our affiliates may use this information to provide or market additional products and services to you.
- Business Partners. We work closely with a variety of business partners. We may offer products jointly with our business partners. You will be able to recognize when a business partner is associated with your transaction when its logo appears or is shown with our logo. We may share information that is related to such transactions with that business partner (unless you have asked us not to in writing).
- Service Providers. Where permitted by applicable law, we may disclose your personal information to service providers who perform business functions on our behalf, services such as data processing and analysis, contest supervision, direct mail or email production, technical support, data storage, courier services, and debt collection. We may also share your personal information, and a record of any transactions you conduct on our websites or offline with us with a third-party advertising partner and its service providers in order to deliver you advertising tailored to your interests when you visit certain other websites. Data shared in this way is made pseudonymous. We require all service providers to have written contracts with us that specify appropriate use of your personal information, require them to safeguard your personal information, and prohibit them from making unauthorized or unlawful use of your personal information.
- Joint Marketing Arrangements. Where permitted by law, we may provide information we collect to joint marketers with whom we have a marketing arrangement. We require all joint marketers to have written contracts with us that specify appropriate use of your personal information, require them to safeguard your personal information, and prohibit them from making unauthorized or unlawful use of your personal information. If a federal or state law requires us to give you the right to opt-out prior to any disclosure of your personal information for joint marketing, we will not disclose your personal information for such purposes without providing such opt-out or obtaining your consent to such disclosure.
- Franchisees. Certain Provens products and services are provided via a system of retail offices operated directly by independently owned, third-party franchisees. In order to serve you, and only where permitted by law, we may share your information with these franchisees.
- Communications with the ATO and State Taxing Authorities. The ATO and state taxing authorities may require or request we disclose certain personal and system information in order to process or electronically file your tax return. This information may include, but is not limited to, your name, tax file number, IP addresses, unique device identifiers, bank account numbers, and tax return preparation user activity metrics (e.g., time to complete the tax return).
- Persons Who Acquire Our Assets or Business. If we sell or transfer any of our business or assets, certain information about our clients may be a part of that sale or transfer. In the event such sale or transfer results in a material change to this Privacy Policy, we will notify you. The notification procedure will be the same as the procedure we use to notify you of a change to this Privacy Policy as described below.
- As Required or Permitted by Law. We may disclose your information to affiliated or non-affiliated third-parties when we have a good faith belief that such disclosure is required or permitted by law. This may occur in connection with a court order, legal process, or other judicial, administrative or investigative proceeding that produces a request for information from us. We may disclose your information to proper federal, state, or local officials in order, and to the extent necessary, to inform the official of activities that may constitute, or may have constituted, a violation of any criminal law or to assist the official in investigating or prosecuting a violation of criminal law. As permitted by law, we may disclose your information to the ATO for the prevention of refund fraud and potential cyber security threats.
- Aggregate Data. We may disclose aggregate information compiled using information that does not identify you individually or personally. This may include, for example, the total number of visitors from a particular state or the average user age.
We may also disclose your personal information to our parent company (Provens Group, Inc.) or affiliated Provens companies in the United States, Canada and India, as well as other service providers in the United States.
We will not use or disclose your personal information for any purpose other than as set out in this policy or otherwise notified to you at the time of collection.
If you do not want us to use your personal information for marketing purposes as set out above, please let us know either when we collect your personal information or by contacting us to opt out of marketing activities (see Opting-Out section).