SPECIALIZED BICYCLE COMPONENTS, INC.
**Effective Date of this Privacy Policy: April 16, 2021
** Updated on: September 20, 2023
**Your privacy is important to us and we are committed to complying with the Canada’s PIPEDA in relation to the handling of your Personal Information. In this privacy policy “we”, “us”, “our” and “Specialized” we mean Specialized Bicycle Components Canada, Inc., 20975, rue Daoust, Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, Québec, H9X0A3 and its directly and indirectly held subsidiaries. Specialized and its agents, affiliates, assigns, and all of its direct and indirect subsidiaries, (“Specialized”) are committed to honoring your privacy. We designed our privacy policy (“Privacy Policy”) to let you know how we collect and use your information through a variety of digital means. By accessing or using any of our mobile applications, websites or other Specialized products or services (collectively, “Services”) on any computer, mobile phone, tablet, console or other device (collectively, “Device”) you consent to our Privacy Policy.
In connection with providing our Services, there are times when we may ask for or collect information from you, either in the form of anonymous data or personally identifiable information via cookies or other methods.
Types of Information We Collect
We may automatically collect information regarding your interaction with, and use of, our Services. Information we may collect includes, but is not limited to, your telephone number, Device identifier and hardware information, IP address, browser type and language, cookie information, location (GPS) information, system type, whether you have enabling software to access certain features, access times, referring website URLs, information about your purchases, frequency of rides on the bicycle, starting location and ending location of your rides, power consumption during your rides, error occurrences with respect to the battery of the bicycle, motor and bicycle serial numbers and the hardware version you are using, and other information about your interactions with us.
When you use some of our Services, we may ask your browser to store small text files containing a string of alphanumeric characters known as a cookie. We use both session cookies and persistent cookies. If you have chosen to identify yourself on a Service, we may use session cookies containing encrypted information to identify you and facilitate your use of the Service. Session cookies are required to access content on some of our Services. After you leave a Service and close your browser, a persistent cookie remains. Persistent cookies can be removed by following your help file directions in your web browser. If you refuse our cookies, some features of our Services may not function properly. We are part of the Google DoubleClick Ad Exchange Program, which places a cookie when you use some of our Services. The cookie allows you to view more links to our Services and advertisements from other websites which are also part of the program.
Click for Google’s privacy policy.
User Provided Information: We only collect personal information about you if you voluntarily choose to share it with us. We do not share, rent or sell information concerning our users to third parties in ways other than disclosed in this Privacy Policy. This Information may include, but is not limited to, your name, image, birth date, email and physical address, telephone number, gender, contact lists, social media information and profile, location (GPS) information, activity and performance information, and when necessary, credit card information.
When you choose to submit personally identifiable information to our Services (including name, address, telephone number, email address, location (GPS) information, transaction information, credit card information, date of birth, etc.), your information is used only for the specific purpose for which it was submitted, unless you consent otherwise or as required by law. In many cases, you choose the amount of information you supply. There may be instances where some of the information that we ask you to provide is identified as mandatory and some as voluntary. In such cases, if you do not provide mandatory personal information with respect to a particular activity, you will not be able to engage in that activity. We may collect personally identifiable information when you:
Place an order from our Services;
Return an item or make an exchange;
Inquire about our Services;
Create an account via our Services;
Sign up for email updates or to receive our newsletter and/or advertisements;
Register your bicycle;
Enter a contest or sweepstakes;
Use a Service that requests information regarding your location;
Are referred to us through a marketing promotion; or
Participate in a marketing survey, promotion or event.
We maintain the data that you provide us, along with a record of your purchases, in a secure database. To best serve you, we may combine this information with data that is publicly available and data that we receive from other reputable sources.
YOU ALSO AGREE THAT SOME OF THE DATA YOU PROVIDE AND SUBMIT VIA THE SERVICES IS BEING SENT TO THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. YOU ARE INFORMED THAT THE UNITED STATES PRESENTLY DOES NOT HAVE AN ADEQUATE LEVEL OF PERSONAL DATA PROTECTION AS DETERMINED BY THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION’S ADEQUACY DECISION ON OCTOBER 6, 2015 (Case C-362/14) AND ARTICULATED IN THE EUROPEAN UNION’S DATA PROTECTION DIRECTIVE 95/46/EC. AS A RESULT, IN AN EFFORT TO PROVIDE SUFFICIENT SAFEGUARDS FOR THE PROTECTION OF PRIVACY OF INDIVIDUALS, SPECIALIZED HAS ENTERED INTO AGREEMENTS UTILIZING MODEL CONTRACT CLAUSES, APPROVED BY THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION, WITH VARIOUS ENTITIES THAT MAY TRANSFER DATA YOU SUBMIT TO US OR THAT WE COLLECT FROM YOU WHILE USING OUR SERVICES. BY USING THE SERVICES YOU CONSENT TO THIS TRANSFER OF YOUR DATA.
Log Files: Our servers automatically record certain information (e.g., web request, Internet Protocol ("IP") address, browser type, browser language, URLs, etc.) that your web browser sends whenever you use our Services.
Web Beacons: We may employ clear GIFs or Web Beacons to track anonymously how users use our Services. We may also use Web Beacons in our emails to track which emails are opened by recipients. We may also use a third-party service provider to collect analytical information related to the use of the Services, such as Device state information, Device hardware and OS information, information relating to how a Service functions, and the physical location of a user’s Device at the time the Device crashes. This information is collected and stored in a way that does not personally identify any particular user. We use this aggregated data to improve the quality and functionality of its Services.
Use of Information
At Specialized, we always want to provide you with the most interesting information and the best possible shopping experience when you choose to purchase products or services through our Services. In order to do this, we collect information that allows us to:
Process and track your order;
Provide the information, products and services you request;
Contact you about the status of an order;
Send you promotional offers or information we believe will be of interest to you;
Send you email updates, announcements and/or newsletters;
Identify your product and service preferences;
Determine your location;
Enhance, customize and personalize your experiences and communications with Specialized;
Provide information concerning product recalls or products you have purchased; and
Improve our merchandise selection and customer service.
We collect personal information from users of our Services on a voluntary basis; however, users are not required to give such information to access many of our Services. Personal information may include, without limitation, name, address, phone number, e-mail address, location (GPS) information, billing information and credit card numbers. A user’s personal information may be used for purposes of receiving and processing an order through our Services, determining a user’s location, shipping and returns and customer satisfaction reviews. We also use users' personal information to share news about our athletes, cycling or multi-sport races and competitions, assist in marketing products and services offered by us and our business partners, to facilitate online purchases of our products and to enhance the content of our Services.
When someone downloads and/or uses our Services, our web servers automatically gather information that allows our Services to communicate with the user's Device. We may also use any of the following information: the number of times a user uses our Services, which parts of the Service a user uses, IP address (the Internet address assigned to your Device from your Internet Service Provider), domain type, browser type (e.g., Safari or Internet Explorer), location (GPS) information, and date and time of day. We use this information for statistical purposes that help us design and administer our Services.
Disclosure of Information
We do not sell, trade, or rent to any unaffiliated third parties your personally identifiable information collected via our Services. We do use the anonymous data and the personally identifiable information collected through our Services for statistical purposes and for improving the Services, as well as for our marketing purposes, as part of our responses to your questions or requests for information and potentially when sending commercial emails to you. We may engage a third party’s software or services to assist us with these analyses and activities in which case such information may be shared with them for these purposes (e.g., your email address with our outbound email marketing provider).
We contract with other companies to provide certain services, including shipping, name and address verification, email distribution, location (GPS) information, market research, promotions management and payment processing. We provide these companies with only the information they need to perform their services and work closely with them to ensure that your privacy is respected and protected. This may include sending you newsletters and emails periodically. However, you will have the choice to opt out of receiving newsletters and promotional emails for our Services. These companies are prohibited by contract from using this information for their own marketing purposes or from sharing this information with anyone other than Specialized. As a practical matter, we must release your mailing address to a postal or courier service to deliver information you requested or the services/products you purchased.
From time to time, we may share our mailing list (names and addresses only) and your general shopping activity with our business partners whose products and services we believe will be of interest to you and whose privacy practices meet the Direct Marketing Association's privacy standards. We do not share email addresses for this purpose. If you do not want to receive mailings from other reputable companies and prefer that we do not share any information with these companies, please contact us.
On rare occasions, we may disclose specific information upon governmental request, in response to a court order, or when required by law to do so. We may share information to prevent illegal uses of Specialized’s products and services, or to defend ourselves against third-party claims. We may also share information with companies assisting in fraud protection or investigation. We do not provide information to these agencies or companies for marketing or commercial purposes.
In some cases, we may choose to buy or sell assets. In these business transfers, customer information, including personally identifiable information, is typically one of the business assets that is transferred. Moreover, if any of the Services, Specialized or substantially all of its assets were acquired, or in the unlikely event that we go out of business or enter bankruptcy, customer information, including personally identifiable information, would be one of the assets that is transferred or acquired by a third party. You acknowledge that such transfers may occur, and that any acquirer of any of the Services, Specialized or any of its assets may continue to use your personally identifiable information as set forth in this policy.
International Transfer of Information Collected
We primarily store customer data in Canada. To facilitate Specialized’s global operations, we may transfer and access such information from around the world, including from other countries in which Specialized has operations. This Privacy Policy shall apply even if we transfer customer data to other countries.
Security Measures
We use a variety of current technologies and processes for the protection of our customer data. We maintain a private database on our servers for the storage of all information collected through our Services. It is our practice to use encryption whenever we receive or transmit sensitive data. We use encryption technology to ensure the secure transmission of any personal information you provide while using our Services. All transactions completed through our Services are conducted using 2048-bit Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) encryption.
We will take reasonable measures which we believe are appropriate to protect your information from loss, misuse, alteration or destruction, and, where possible, will ask that any third parties to whom we may transfer your information take comparable steps to protect that security. Although we will use all reasonable efforts to safeguard the confidentiality of any user information collected, we shall have no liability for disclosure of any user information obtained due to errors in transmission or the unauthorized acts of third parties. Email is not a secure form of communication. Please do not send us your credit card number, social security number or other personal information via email.
How You Can Help Yourself
To help ensure that our security measures are effective in preventing unauthorized access to your private information, you should be aware of the security features available to you through your browser. You should use a security-enabled browser to submit your credit card information and other personal information via our Services. Please note: if you do not use a SSL-capable browser, you are at risk of having data intercepted. We will not be responsible for any compromise of data that is intercepted due to your use of an unsecured browser.
Most browsers have the ability to notify you if you change between secure and insecure communications, receive invalid site identification information for the site you are communicating with, or send information over an unsecured connection. We recommend that you enable these browser functions to help ensure that your communications are secure. You can also monitor the URL of the site you are visiting (secure URLs begin with https:// rather than the normal http://), along with the security symbol of your browser (e.g., a broken or complete key in Internet Explorer) to help identify when you are communicating with a secure server. You can also view the details of the security certificate of the site to which you are connected. We encourage you to use this to check the validity of any site you connect to using secure communications.
Other Websites
Please be aware that our Services and email communications may contain links to other websites and services on the Internet that are owned and operated by third parties. The information practices of those websites and services linked in our Services are not covered by this Privacy Policy and, therefore, we are not responsible for the content or privacy policies of websites and services to which our Services link. We encourage you to review the privacy policies of these other websites and services to understand their privacy practices.
Public Forum
Please be aware that our Services and email communications may contain links to other websites and services on the Internet that are owned and operated by third parties. The information practices of those websites and services linked in our Services are not covered by this Privacy Policy and, therefore, we are not responsible for the content or privacy policies of websites and services to which our Services link. We encourage you to review the privacy policies of these other websites and services to understand their privacy practices.
You may choose to share certain information. In order to participate in certain features, you may have to adjust your privacy settings and share more information. You may also choose to share your activity on other platforms, such as Facebook and Twitter. Please read the privacy policies of those platforms, because your activity associated with Specialized published on those platforms will no longer be governed by this Privacy Policy.
Who May Use Our Services
Our Services are designed for users from Canada. Users from other countries are advised not to disclose personal information unless they consent to having their information used as set forth in this Privacy Policy, rather than under the law of user's home country. You should not send any personal information through the Services unless you agree to be bound by this Privacy Policy and by Canada law.
Children
We are in compliance with the requirements of COPPA (the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act), a law of the United States of America, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under the age of 13. Our Services are all directed to people who are at least 13 years old. Since information regarding children under the age of 13 is not collected, we do not knowingly distribute personal information regarding children under the age of 13.
Quebec Law 25 Compliance
Because we value your privacy, we have taken the necessary precautions to be in compliance with the Law 25. We therefore have outlined here how we use the data we collect and do not distribute your personal information to outside parties without your consent. You may also block cookies at any time 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 strictly necessary cookies), you may not be able to access all or parts of our websites or to use all the functionality provided through our websites.
When you first visit the Specialized Canada Website, you will be presented with a banner that has the purpose to:
a. inform you that we would like to set cookies;
b. provide you with a link to this cookie policy, enabling you to make an informed decision;
c. request your consent for the use of ‘Performance’, ‘Functional’ and/or ‘Targeting’ cookies (please see below for a detailed description of our cookies); and
d. inform you on your right to withdraw your consent by simply opening the cookie banner again and deselecting the respective categories.
Specialized generally uses three categories of cookies: ‘Performance’, ‘Functional’, and ‘Targeting’. Further information about Specialized's use of these cookies is set out below.
*PERFORMANCE COOKIES
These cookies perform certain functions to enable the individual to move around the Specialized Website and use its features. Some of these cookies are essential as they are required to enable the Specialized Website to function properly.
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site.*
*FUNCTIONAL COOKIES
Functional cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalization. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages.*
*TARGETING COOKIES
Specialized uses cookies for targeting purposes such as marketing and social media advertising.*
Canada PIPEDA Compliance
Because we value your privacy, we have taken the necessary precautions to be in compliance with the Canada PIPEDA . We therefore will not distribute your personal information to outside parties without your consent.
As part of the Canada PIPEDA, all users of our Services may make any changes to their personal information which we possess at any time by following the link in any email sent by us to remove or edit their personal information.
Opt Out/Modify Information
If you would like to add your name to our marketing list, request that your name be removed, or correct your current information, please click on the “unsubscribe” link in our emails. We will make a reasonable effort to accommodate your request.
Changes and Updates to this Privacy Policy
If you choose to use any of our Services, your use and any disputes over privacy are subject to this Privacy Policy. We reserve the right to change this Privacy Policy at any time without notice except as otherwise provided here. Please check back periodically to see if our Privacy Policy has been updated. Your continued use of the Services constitutes your agreement to the terms of this Privacy Policy and any future versions of this Privacy Policy.
No Guarantee
However, like other companies, we cannot guarantee 100% the security or confidentiality of the information you provide to us.
Contact Us
If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, you may contact us at