Privacy

General Statement

We respect your privacy and are committed to protecting it. This privacy statement explains our policies and practices regarding on-line customer information. It is through this disclosure that we intend to provide you with a level of comfort and confidence in how we collect, use, and safeguard personal and other information we collect or that you provide through this website, and how you can contact us if you have any questions or concerns. It is our sincere hope that by explaining our data handling practices we will develop a trusting and long-lasting relationship with you.

Information About Our Organization and Website

This Privacy Statement applies to ford.com, which is owned and maintained by Ford Motor Company, Marketing, Sales and Service Division, 16800 Executive Plaza Drive, Dearborn, MI 48126.

The main business purpose of this website is to provide Ford Motor Company products, and services information, along with investment and media updates.

Personally Identifiable Information We Collect From You

When you visit ford.com we will not collect any personal information about you unless you provide it to us voluntarily. Personal data includes information that is particular to you such as name, street address, telephone number, and e-mail address (and credit card number if you place an order with us). If you opt not to provide us with personal information you can still access our website, however you may be unable to participate in certain promotions or receive product information or have a purchase order fulfilled.

Please keep in mind that if you directly disclose personally identifiable information or personally sensitive data through any ford.com chat room, message board, or other public online forums, this information may be collected and used by others.

How We Use the Personally Identifiable Information We Collect

Personally identifiable information collected on ford.com may be used to:

  • Fulfill a site user request (brochure fulfillment, lead generation, send marketing or promotional materials including e-mails or other information)
  • Fulfill and deliver an order for goods or services
  • Respond to your comments or requests for information
  • To meet a request for or to develop new products or services
  • To make the user experience more customer-friendly
  • Contact you if necessary in the course of processing or shipping an order for products or services
  • Generate site analytics that improve our site layout, content, product offerings and services
  • To comply with legal requirements

Other (Non-Personally Identifiable) Information We Collect From Site Visitors

During a normal visit to our site, no personally identifiable information or other information about you is collected. All information on our site is free to browse at your leisure without the need for you to provide us with any information. Ford.com collects other information, non-personally identifiable information from site visitors. This means that we do not track these items on an individual basis that identifies the site visitor, but rather gather and collect this information on an aggregate [or anonymous] basis that includes all site visitors. Non-personal information includes tracking the site pages that are visited or the amount of time spent on our site. Non-personal information also includes information about your browser/system for technical troubleshooting purposes.

Our primary goal in collecting aggregate information from you is to be able to perform site metrics that allow us to improve the functionality of the website. We need to collect aggregate information in order to track page visits, perform site click-through analysis, review peak site usage times and analyze site layout and design.

We use session and persistent "cookies," session logs, spot light ads/web beacons/GIF/pixel tags/banner ads or links to collect aggregate or other non-personally identifiable information about site visitors. We may also use third party advertising networks that serve ads to collect aggregate or other non-personally identifiable information about site visitors. An explanation for each of these items and how they work is included in the section on "Methods We Use to Collect Information."

How We Use the Aggregate or Non-Personally Identifiable Information We Collect

Non-Personally identifiable information collected on ford.com may be used to:

  • Compile aggregate and statistical data to help in website design and to identify popular features
  • Measure site activity to allow us to update our site to better meet user wants and needs

Ford.com utilizes session log data and non-personal data for the purpose of performing analytics on the users' experience while visiting this site. This analysis:

  • Is performed on an aggregate level and does not identify you or your information personally
  • Involves the use of a third party vendor acting on behalf of ford.com
  • Is performed in order to improve our website and the user experience
  • Includes the use of session and/or persistent cookies to track user movement across this and other Ford Motor Company websites or to track other events within or across this and other Ford Motor Company websites
  • Any information that is provided to the third party vendor is to be used only for the purpose of performing the analytics and compiling reports of the data. The third party vendor is restricted from using this data in any other way other than to provide these services to Ford Motor Company and they may not share or resell this data

Methods We Use to Collect Information

A "cookie" is a small text file that helps us in many ways to make your visit to our website more enjoyable and meaningful to you. They allow us to tailor a website to better match your interests and preferences. There are a couple different types of cookies.

A "session" cookie is stored only in your computer's working memory (RAM) and only lasts for your browsing session. When you close all your browser's windows, or when you shut down your computer, the session cookie disappears forever.

A "persistent" cookie is stored on your computer's hard drive until a specified date, which could be tomorrow, next week, or 10 years from now. Persistent cookies stay on your computer until either a) they expire, b) they are overwritten with newer cookies, c) you manually remove them. Most browsers can be configured not to accept cookies, however, this may prevent you from having access to some site functions or features.

Ford.com may use spot light ads/web beacons/GIF and/or pixel tags which are site instrumentation tools that help us to determine, for instance, whether a page has been viewed or not and, if so, how many times. When you ask us to send you information on a promotion or a newsletter, we may use web beacons to establish how many of the emails are actually opened. In general, any electronic image viewed as part of a web page, including an ad banner, can act as a web beacon. We may use web beacons to collect web usage analytics.

When you visit our website the server housing the pages automatically generates a "session log." We use session logs to help us determine how people travel through our site. In this way, we can structure our pages so that the information most frequently visited is easier to find. By tracking page visits, we can also determine if the information we're providing is being used. The only data gathered is the Internet Protocol (IP) address from which you came (which contains no personal information), the web site that referred you, the pages you visited and the date and time of those visits.

Users may be directed to ford.com via banner ads or site links. Ads or site links that are placed by ford.com use cookies or web beacons to deliver metrics on the effectiveness of the ads or links. They do not collect personal information from the user.

Sharing Your Information

Personal information that you provide to us in the course of requesting a product or service through this website may be gathered and stored in one or more of our corporate databases and be used for purposes of contacting you for things like promotional offers, marketing programs, or other communications from this website or other Ford Motor Company websites.

We may share personal information that we collect about you with other companies within the Ford Motor Company family of companies or subsidiaries. Our "family of companies" is the group of companies related to us by common control or ownership. We share information within this "family" as a normal part of conducting business and offering products and services to our customers.

Vendors, contractors or partners of ford.com who have access to your personal information in connection with providing services for ford.com are required to keep the information confidential and are not permitted to use this information for any other purpose than to carry out the services they are performing for ford.com.

Site metrics for ford.com may be shared with other Ford Motor Company websites or subsidiaries or affiliates. The information shared will be aggregate data and will not include any of your personally identifiable information.

Ford.com will disclose your personal information, without notice, only if required to do so by law or in the good faith belief that such action is necessary to: (a) conform to the edicts of the law or comply with legal process served on Ford Motor Company or the site; (b) protect and defend the rights or property of Ford Motor Company and this site; and, (c) act under exigent circumstances to protect the personal safety of users of Ford Motor Company, its web sites, or the public.

Security of Your Information

Safeguarding information of visitors to our website is important to us. We use systems, policies and procedures to maintain accuracy of information and to protect information from loss, misuse or alteration.

When you send personal information, such as telephone numbers, to ford.com we use "Secure Socket Layers" or SSL to protect your data. SSL is encryption technology that helps safeguard your personal information against misuse by unauthorized individuals.

Vendors, contractors or partners of ford.com who have access to your personal information in connection with providing services for ford.com are required to keep the information confidential.

Vendors are not permitted to use this information for any other purpose than to carry out the services they are performing for ford.com

Consent to Processing

By visiting this site and by providing your personally identifiable information to us, you understand and consent to the collection, use, processing, transfer, and disclosure of your personally identifiable and non-personally identifiable information globally – including the United States – in accordance with this Privacy Statement. Therefore, by visiting this site and by providing such information, you consent to the transfer of such information across country borders, and to the use, processing, and disclosure of such information in global locations as required. Your consent shall be deemed to include your consent to transfer of the personally identifiable or non-personally identifiable information to locations that may have different levels of privacy protection than in your own country.

Links to Other Sites

Ford.com provides links to other websites. We encourage you to review the privacy statements of all sites which you visit, including those whose links are provided so that you can understand how those sites collect, use and share your information. Ford.com is not responsible for the privacy statements, content or data handling practices on other websites.

Children's Privacy

Ford.com does not knowingly intend to collect personal information from children under 13 years of age.

If a child has provided us with personal information a parent or guardian of that child may contact us at Ford Motor Company, Marketing, Sales and Service Division, 16800 Executive Plaza Drive, Dearborn, MI 48126 or producer@ford.com if they want this information deleted from our records. We will then make reasonable efforts to delete the child's information from the database that stores information for ford.com.

Contacting Us

If you have any questions, comments or concerns about this online privacy statement for ford.com, ford.com privacy practices, or have any questions regarding the contents of this website please contact us at producer@ford.com or Ford.com Privacy, Ford Motor Company, Marketing, Sales and Service Division,16800 Executive Plaza Drive, Dearborn, 4N304 Regent Court Building, MI 48126.

Privacy Statement Effective Date and Revision Days

Occasionally we may update the privacy statement for ford.com in order to reflect any changes to the website or our privacy practices. If we update this statement, the new statement will be posted to the website ten (10) days prior to the changes taking effect.

The effective date of this privacy statement is January 6, 2009.