General Mills Online Privacy Policy

At General Mills, we are very sensitive to the privacy concerns of visitors to our Websites. That is why we are providing you with this Privacy Policy explaining our online information collection practices and the choices you can make about the collection and use of your information. We want to be very clear: Unless you explicitly provide us with your personally identifiable information (e.g. user name, e-mail address, street address, telephone number, etc.) we do not obtain information that individually identifies you when you visit our site.

The Information We Collect

At our Websites, we collect information in several ways: through the use of cookie technology, web beacons, and similar devices, and through information that you voluntarily provide to us.

How does General Mills use cookies, web beacons, and similar technologies?

We employ cookie technology, web beacons, and similar devices on our Websites to facilitate site administration and navigation and to provide an enhanced online experience for the visitor. Information tracked includes but is not limited to, (1) a user's IP address (i.e. princeton.edu - 192.168.1.1), the type of web browser (i.e. Netscape Navigator or Microsoft Explorer) and operating system (i.e. Windows or Linux) being used, (2) the pages of the Website a user visits, and (3) other Websites a user visited before visiting our site.

Cookies do NOT contain any personally identifiable information such as your name or your e-mail address. Most browsers accept cookies automatically, but can be configured not to do so or to notify the user when a cookie is being sent. If you wish to disable cookies, refer to your browser help menu to learn how to disable cookies. Please note that if you disable cookies, you may be unable to access some customized features on our Websites.

We may use web beacons on our Websites. Web beacons are 1x1 single-pixel graphics that allow us to count the number of users who have visited a particular web page or to access certain cookies. We may use web beacons on our Websites to count users and to recognize users by accessing our cookies. Being able to access our cookies allows us to personalize our Website and improve your experience at our Website. We may also include web beacons in HTML-formatted e-mail messages that we send to determine which e-mail messages were opened.

What types of personally identifiable information do we collect?

The types of personally identifiable information we collect on this Website may include, but are not limited to: your e-mail address, name, street address, age, gender, other demographic information, and phone number. You may be asked to provide personally identifiable information, for instance, if you order a product, register for a sweepstakes, contest or other game, participate in a survey, join a club, receive a newsletter, or participate in a consumer panel or similar type of activity. Your participation in these activities (and therefore your provision of personally identifiable information) is entirely voluntary. Areas of our Website may ask you to answer general survey questions. Your answers help us to better understand our consumers generally, and may also help us improve your own experience with our Website and provide you with more targeted and helpful information.

How Information Is Used By General Mills

We only collect personally identifiable information from you when you choose to provide it. For instance, If you visit our Website and register for a sweepstakes, contest, or other game, we collect your e-mail and any other information submitted for the purpose of notifying you of the results and for any other purpose disclosed and that you agree to on the information submission page/form. If you opt in or otherwise give us permission to collect information, we may collect your personally identifiable information to process your order of goods, to respond to your questions, comments or complaints, to send out brochures or other company information, or to contact you in connection with consumer surveys or consumer panels. Only those who opt in or expressly ask to receive information online will receive it. Anyone who receives such an e-mail may "opt out" at any time they wish to cease receiving e-mails or other information from us.

We may use the information you provide to improve our Website and to improve our marketing efforts to consumers.

When General Mills Might Provide Other Parties With Personally-Identifiable Information

We are committed to keeping your personally identifiable information secure and will take reasonable steps to protect your personal information from misuse or alteration.

We may share your personally identifiable information with other brands and/or our affiliates.

We also may share your personally identifiable information with third parties if you opt in and/or otherwise give us the right to share such information with third parties.

We may also provide your information to third parties who provide services to us. These parties may only use the information provided in conjunction with the services they provide for us (e.g. fulfillment of an order, a sweepstakes prize, deployment of a survey, etc.).

We also reserve the right to disclose any personally identifiable information as needed if such information is requested by law enforcement agencies or if we are required to do so by law, regulation, subpoena, court order, or by a government entity. We may also disclose personal information to third parties if we have reason to believe that disclosing such information is necessary to identify, contact, or bring legal action against someone who may be violating the Terms of Use of our Website, to conduct investigations of consumer complaints or possible breaches of law, to protect the integrity of the site, to fulfill your requests, or to cooperate in any legal investigation.

Security For Credit Card, Data And Transaction Information

At General Mills, we are committed to keeping your online transactions safe and secure. In order to reasonably assure the privacy and security of your credit card and other personal data when making an order, we use Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) technology. SSL uses encryption technology to create a secure connection between your computer and ours. We have also put procedures in place to safeguard the information/data we collect from you. We cannot absolutely guarantee the security of any information you provide online; you provide it at your own risk.

Links To Other Sites

Please Note: Our Website contains links to the Websites of our subsidiaries and affiliates, and to Websites that are owned and operated by third parties. These other Websites may have their own privacy policies and would not be governed by this General Mills Online Privacy Policy. We are not responsible for the privacy practices or the content of Websites owned and operated by any such third parties. Other Websites may collect and treat information collected differently, so we encourage you to carefully read and review the privacy policy for each Website you visit.

Chat Rooms And Message/Bulletin Boards

Users of chat rooms and message/bulletin boards that may be on our Websites should be aware that when they voluntarily disclose personally identifiable information (e.g., user name, e-mail address, etc.) on a message/bulletin board, in a chat area, or other interactive area where personal information can be posted, the information can be collected and used by other Web surfers (s/b Users). This may result in unsolicited messages from other posters or parties. We make no representations and undertake no obligations as to the security of information you voluntarily post in chat rooms and message/bulletin boards.

Our Commitment To Children's Privacy

A SPECIAL NOTE TO PARENTS: To protect the interests of children, no personal information will be requested on our Websites from children 13 years of age or under, without notice to and the consent of a parent or guardian. This information, if collected, is will be subject to the terms of this Privacy Policy.

Changes In Our Online Privacy Policy

We reserve the right to change or remove this Privacy Policy at our sole discretion at any time. Please check back from time to time to ensure that you are aware of any updates or changes in this Privacy Policy.

Your Consent To The Terms Of This Online Privacy Policy

By using this website, you signify your assent to all of the terms of this General Mills Online Privacy Policy and our Terms of Use. If you do not agree with any term of this General Mills Online Privacy Policy or our Terms of Use, please do not use this site or submit any personally identifiable information.

How You Can Access Or Correct Your Information

You can request to access, review, correct, update or have your personally identifiable information deleted from our database by sending an e-mail to careline@genmills.com. To protect your privacy and security we will also take reasonable steps to verify your identity before granting access or making corrections.

How To Contact Us

Should you have any questions or concerns about this General Mills Online Privacy Policy or the collection of information, please e-mail us at careline@genmills.com