Privacy Policy
Last updated March 1, 2018
Questions about Privacy?
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Privacy Policy
This Policy describes the personal information Gap Inc. and our affiliates and subsidiaries in the U.S. and Canada, including Gap (Canada) Inc., Banana Republic (Canada) Inc., and Old Navy (Canada) Inc. and our brands, including Gap, Banana Republic, Old Navy, Gap Factory and Banana Republic Factory (collectively, “Gap Inc.") collect about you, why we collect it, how we use it, and when we share it with third parties. This Policy covers our Canadian stores and online experiences including our websites and mobile apps. Our Policy also describes the choices you can make about how we collect, use, and disclose your information. If our information practices change, we will post an updated Policy on our website. You can tell if the Policy has changed by checking the revision date that appears at the top of this Policy. You can browse our site without providing any personal information, but if you choose not to provide us with certain personal information, that may result in your being unable to use certain services or features offered by us.
If you have any questions about our Privacy Policy, please contact us as described in the section entitled, "How do I contact you?" below.
- What kind of personal information does Gap Inc. collect?
- Where does Gap Inc. store my information?
- How does Gap Inc. use my personal information?
- How does Gap Inc. share my personal information?
- What other information does Gap Inc. collect?
- What if I connect to Gap Inc.’s in-store Wi-Fi services?
- What if I use different devices to visit Gap Inc. websites or mobile applications?
- Why did I receive a marketing email after I made a purchase in a Gap Inc. store?
- How do I access, change or delete my personal information?
- How do I make choices about receiving promotional communications?
- How does Gap Inc. protect kids' privacy?
- How is my information used for interest-based, behavioural or targeted advertising and what choices do I have?
- What if I apply for a Gap Inc. branded credit card on your site?
- What if I participate in local store programs?
- How do I know personal information is secure?
- What is "phishing"?
- I received a suspicious email from a Gap Inc. brand regarding an order I did not place. What should I do?
- I responded to an online job posting for a Gap Inc. job that requires me to upload personal financial information. Is this part of your hiring process?
- What about links to other websites?
- How do I contact you?
What kind of personal information does Gap Inc. collect?
We may collect personal information from you, such as your name, email address, postal address, phone number, credit card number, gender, birthday, personal interests, etc., when you visit one of our websites or stores, install or use our mobile apps, place an order online or by phone, make an in-store purchase, save your information with us online, return an item to a store, contact us with a question or concern, or participate in a contest, promotion, survey or loyalty program. We maintain a record of your product interests and the purchases you make online, through a mobile app, by phone and in our stores. We may also collect your image via Closed Circuit Television in our stores for security and loss prevention purposes.
We may combine personal information with information about your online and in-store transactions and other interactions with us, including your purchases. We may also combine your personal information with information we receive from other sources, such as joint marketing partners, public databases, publicly available pages on social media platforms and other third parties. In addition, if you choose to engage in social sharing, such as by connecting your social media account to your customer account or by logging into your customer account from your social media account, the social media site may share information with us about your use of their services, including profile information, information about your contacts and content you have viewed or liked. Please refer to the social media site’s privacy settings to control how your information is shared.
If you submit any personal information relating to other people to us or to our service providers, you represent that you have the authority to do so and to permit us to use the information in accordance with this Privacy Policy.
Where does Gap Inc. store my personal information?
Personal information about you may be maintained and processed on our behalf by our affiliates and other third party service providers inside and outside of Canada including but not limited to the United States. Your personal information may be subject to the laws of the countries in which it is stored or used, and those countries may have a different data protection regime than the country in which you reside and under the laws of those other countries, in certain circumstances, courts, law enforcement agencies, regulatory agencies or security authorities in those other countries may be entitled to access your personal information. By providing us with any personal information, you consent to the transfer of your personal information to other countries, such as the United States, which may have a different privacy regime from your country of residence.
How does Gap Inc. use my information?
We may use your personal information in the following ways:
- To process and fulfill your order, including to send you emails to confirm your order status and shipment
- To communicate with you and to send you information by email, postal mail, telephone, text message, or other means about our products, services, contests, and promotions, including marketing communications that we believe may be of interest to you
- To make your shopping experience easier, more enjoyable and more efficient
- To address problems with and improve our products, brands, services and technologies, as well as to develop new products and services
- To allow you to use our in-store and online technologies
- To provide consistent, personalized services across all channels and all of our brands, including to personalize our advertising, marketing communications, shopping experiences and promotional offers
- To organize local community events, promotions and in-store experiences
- To facilitate social sharing
- To allow you to apply for an offer of credit from a payment card provider
- To allow you to enroll and participate in a loyalty or customer relationship program
- To administer and fulfill our contests and other promotions
- To help us learn more about your shopping preferences
- To prevent, detect, mitigate and investigate fraud, security breaches and activities that are or potentially may be prohibited or illegal
- To enforce our Terms of Use or other policies
- As we believe to be required or appropriate to protect the rights, property, safety and security of Gap Inc. and our employees, customers and others
- As we believe to be required or appropriate under applicable law, to respond to requests from government authorities and to comply with legal process
You always have the choice not to receive marketing information or calls. For instructions on opting out, please see the section entitled, "How do I make choices about receiving promotional communications?", below.
How does Gap Inc. share my personal information?
We may share your personal information in the following ways:
- Brands. When you provide personal information to one of our Gap Inc. brands (Gap, Banana Republic, Old Navy, Gap Factory, Banana Republic Factory, Athleta, or Intermix), we may share that information with our other Gap Inc. brands.
- By You. You may disclose personal information when you post content to our websites, in-store technologies or other public forums, such as our brands’ social media pages, blogs, and online product reviews. Any information that you disclose through these services will become public.
- Social Sharing. Your personal information may be disclosed in connection with your social sharing activity, such as if you log into your customer account from your social media account. By connecting your customer account and your social media account, you authorize us to share information with your social media account provider, and you understand that the use of the information we share will be governed by the social media site’s privacy policy.
- Service Providers. We may share your information with our service providers who manage our customer information and perform services on our behalf, such as fulfilling promotions, sending communications to our customers, providing advertising services, conducting surveys, etc. We do not authorize any of these service providers to make any other use or disclosure of your information. These service providers may be located inside and outside Canada including but not limited to the United States.
- Third Parties. We may share your information when we team up with another company to offer or provide products, services, contests, or promotions to our customers.
- Legal Requirements. We may share information about you if necessary or appropriate, in our good faith judgment, to comply with laws or regulations or in response to a valid subpoena, order, or government request, or to protect the operations, privacy, safety, property or rights of Gap Inc. or others.
- Scrip or Loyalty Programs. If you choose to participate in any third-party scrip, loyalty, or similar program in which a Gap Inc. brand is a participating vendor, and you authorize Gap Inc. or our credit card processor to provide information about your purchases to the company administering the program, we will share your personal information with that program. Scrip programs allow you to instruct us to divert a percentage of the amount you spend on Gap Inc. purchases to participating schools and other non-profit organizations. Loyalty programs allow you to earn "points" on purchases at Gap Inc. brands, which you may then use toward certain rewards offered by the loyalty programs in which you participate. The information you authorize us to disclose to the third-party scrip or loyalty program may include your credit card number and the date and amount of your purchase, and may also include your name and other information you have asked us to provide. Please note that once we disclose this information, the scrip or loyalty company may use and share it with others in accordance with its own privacy policy. You should review these policies carefully, as we have no control over them.
- Business Transfer. In the unlikely event of a sale or merger of Gap Inc. or any of our businesses, our customers' personal information and other information we have collected as described in this policy may be among the transferred business assets.
What other information does Gap Inc. collect?
We may collect information that does not reveal your specific identity or does not directly relate to an individual, such as browser and device information; information collected through cookies, pixel tags and other technologies, demographic information and other information provided by you; and aggregated information.
We may use and disclose such information for any lawful purpose. If required, we will treat such information as personal information in accordance with this policy. We will also treat such information as personal information to the extent it is combined with personal information. For example, when you use our technologies, we may keep a record of your product interests, the purchases you make and other content you generate (such as adding items to your shopping cart.
We may collect information in a variety of ways, including:
- Your browser or device: Certain information is collected by most browsers or automatically through your device, such as your Media Access Control (MAC) address, computer type (Windows or Macintosh), screen resolution, operating system name and version, device manufacturer and model, language, Internet browser type and version, and browser click-through and usage data.
- Mobile applications: When you download and use one of our mobile applications, we may track and collect usage data, such as the date and time the app on your device accesses our servers and what information and files have been accessed, viewed and/or downloaded to the app based on your device number or other identifier.
- Cookies: Cookies are pieces of information stored directly on the computer that you are using. Our websites, online advertisements, and emails use cookies, pixel tags, and other technologies to automatically collect information about your interactions, such as browser type, pages viewed, links clicked, and other actions you take in connection with our websites, online ads, and email. We use the information for a variety of purposes, including to facilitate navigation, to display information more effectively, to personalize your experience, to understand how our websites are used, to measure the success of our marketing campaigns, and for security purposes. If your browser is set to decline cookies, you may not be able to access your customer account or make a purchase on our websites. To learn how we use cookies for advertising, please see the section, How is my information used for behavioral or targeted advertising and what choices do I have? below.
If you do not want information collected through the use of cookies, there is a simple procedure in most browsers that allows you to automatically decline cookies or be given the choice of declining or accepting the transfer to your computer of a particular cookie (or cookies) from a particular site. If you do not accept cookies, you may experience some inconvenience in your use of our sites. For example, you may not be able to access your account information or make a purchase on our websites.
- Using pixel tags and other similar technologies: We may use pixel tags to, among other things, track the actions of users of our sites and services (including email recipients), measure the success of our marketing campaigns and compile statistics about usage of our sites and services and response rates.
- Analytics: We use third-party service providers, including Google and Adobe, which use cookies and similar technologies to collect and analyze information about use of our websites and mobile applications and in-store technologies. This service may also collect information regarding the use of other websites, apps and online resources. You can learn about Google’s practices at http://google.com/policies/privacy/partners/, and opt out by using the Google Analytics Opt-Out Browser Add-on, available at https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout. You can learn about Adobe’s practices and opt out at http://www.adobe.com/privacy/opt-out.html.
- Adobe Flash: We may use Adobe Flash technology, including Flash Local Shared Objects (“Flash LSOs”), and other similar technologies to collect and store information about your use of our websites and mobile applications. You can adjust your Flash player settings to block Flash LSO storage on your computer using the tools contained in the Website Storage Settings Panel. You can also control Flash LSOs by going to the Global Storage Settings Panel and following the instructions (which may include instructions that explain, for example, how to prevent Flash LSOs from being placed on your computer without your being asked, and (for Flash Player 8 and later) how to block Flash LSOs that are not being delivered by the operator of the page you are on at the time). Please note that setting the Flash Player to limit acceptance of Flash LSOs may interfere with the functionality of some Flash applications, including those used in connection with our websites and mobile apps.
- IP Address: Your Internet Protocol (“IP”) address is a number that is automatically assigned to the computer that you are using by your Internet service provider. An IP address may be identified and logged automatically in our server log files whenever you access our websites, along with the time of the visit and the pages that were visited. Your IP address may also indicate your approximate physical location. Collecting IP addresses is standard practice and is done automatically by many websites, applications and other technologies. We use IP addresses for purposes such as calculating usage levels and diagnosing server problems.
- Physical Location: We may collect the physical location of your device by, for example, using satellite, cell phone tower or Wi-Fi signals. We may use your device’s physical location to provide you with personalized location-based services and content. You may be permitted to allow or deny such uses, but if you do deny them, we may not be able to provide you with a personalized user experience.
- In-Store Technologies: We may provide in-store technologies to help personalize and improve your shopping experience. These technologies may require the collection of certain information about your mobile device, such as your MAC address or other device identification information and may also permit you to submit personal details for increased levels of personalization, such as your interests, shopping preferences, and sizing information.
- Aggregated information: We may collect and use aggregated personal information, which does not personally identify you. For example, we may calculate the percentage of our site users who have a particular telephone area code.
What if I connect to Gap Inc.’s in-store Wi-Fi services?
If you choose to connect to our in-store Wi-Fi services, Gap Inc. will receive information about you and your device, including your device’s MAC address, IP address, received signal strength indicator (RSSI) and technical details about your device such as its operating system and device type (including make and model) and technical capabilities. If you have given your device a name, we may receive it. We will also receive information about how you use our Wi-Fi network while you are connected, including the store location, the areas of the store you visit, the names and/or Internet addresses of the websites you visit and the applications you use, and how long you interact with such sites or applications. We collect this information each time you connect to the Wi-Fi services and may associate it with other information we have collected from and about you.
If your mobile device is configured to search for available Wi-Fi networks, we may receive information about your device even if you choose not to connect to our Wi-Fi services.
As a convenience, we may provide you with an option to stay connected to the Gap Inc. Wi-Fi networks. If you choose this option, you will be automatically logged into the Wi-Fi network of any Gap Inc. store offering Wi-Fi services, and we may collect the information described above even if you do not actively use your Internet browser or your mobile applications during your time in our store. You can choose to disconnect from the Gap Wi-Fi network at any time through your device’s Wi-Fi settings. However, please note that disconnecting from one store’s Wi-Fi network will only disconnect you from that network during your current visit. You can opt out of the auto-reconnect feature at any time by visiting http://www.smart-places.org.
For full details about our in-store Wi-Fi practices, please see our Wi-Fi Terms of Use.
What if I use different devices to visit Gap Inc. websites or mobile applications?
In order to provide you with a more efficient and convenient shopping experience, you may be able to access various content or sign into your account from many different devices. If you use many different devices to access our sites or our mobile applications, such as your home computer, laptop and/or mobile device, we may be able to link each of your devices with your account. For example, our sites may allow you to access your favorite items or shopping cart via an email link that is unique to your account. By clicking on the link, you will be automatically signed into your account in order for you to continue your shopping experience where you left off. If you choose to click the email link on a new device, we will be able to associate your current device with your account information. Information we have collected from your different devices may be combined with other information you have provided us, including information that is saved in your customer account, and we may use such information to help provide more tailored experiences and consistent services and experiences across all of your devices as explained in this privacy notice. You may choose to browse our site without your device being recognized by signing out of your account.
Why did I receive a marketing email after I made a purchase in a Gap Inc. store?
To provide you with a more seamless customer experience, we keep records of all your Gap Inc. transactions, both online and in-store. For example, if you use a credit or debit card or give the sales associate your email address when you make a purchase in our store, we may associate that information with your online customer account. As described above, we may use information about your purchases to email you about other products and services that we believe may be of interest to you.
How do I access, update or correct my personal information?
You can access, review, update and correct certain personal information related to your use of our online sites (such as your name and contact information). To access your information at a Gap Inc. website, simply sign in to your account using your email address and password, and you will be able to edit your personal information in your account profile.
You can also request access to or ask us to update your personal information in our records by contacting us as described in the section entitled, “How do I contact you?”, below. We will respond in accordance with applicable law.
How do I make choices about receiving promotional communications?
Gap Inc. and our brands, including Gap, Banana Republic, Old Navy, Gap Factory and Banana Republic Factory, want to communicate with you only if you want to hear from us so we will only send you promotional communications if you’ve requested them. If you later prefer not to receive promotional information, such as information about special offers and sales events, from one or more of our brands, you can let us know by contacting our customer service as described in the section entitled, "How do I contact you?", below or you can click on the self-service unsubscribe links below or you can follow the "opt out" instructions provided in promotional emails or text messages sent to you.
If contacting customer service, please be sure to include your full name and the email address you used when you signed up to receive promotional communications from the Gap Inc. brand. If you ask us to remove your name and address from promotional lists, we will maintain your name in a "do not contact" file in order to honour your request. It may take up to 10 days to process your email request and 6-8 weeks to process your postal mail request, during which period you may continue to receive communications from Gap Inc.
If you unsubscribe from promotional communications from a brand, you may continue to receive transactional and account-related messages from the brand.
If you change your mind, you can start receiving promotional communications from us again by logging into your online account and changing your preferences, by signing up when you visit our websites or our stores or when you enter a sweepstakes or contest, or by contacting customer service.
How does Gap Inc. protect kids' privacy?
Gap Inc. is concerned about the privacy and safety of children when they use the Internet. We will never knowingly request personally identifiable information online from anyone under the age of 13 without prior verifiable parental consent. Our websites are general audience sites and are not targeted to or intended for use by children.
How is my information used for interest-based, behavioural or targeted advertising and what choices do I have?
We also work with third-parties such as ad networks and other advertising companies that use their own tracking technologies (including cookies and pixel tags) on our websites and apps and other websites and apps in order to provide you with tailored advertisements on our behalf across the Internet (including social media websites and apps). These companies may collect information about your activity across your different devices on our websites and apps and third-party websites and apps (such as web pages you visit and your interaction with our advertising and other communications) and use this information to deliver ads that are more relevant to you on third party websites and apps.
We adhere to the Digital Advertising Alliance of Canada’s (DAAC) Self-Regulatory Principles for Online Behavioural Advertising. For more information about interest-based advertising on your desktop or mobile browser and to understand your options, including how you can opt-out of receiving behavioural ads from participating third-party advertising companies, please visit the Digital Advertising Alliance of Canada website as at http://youradchoices.ca/choices. To learn more about interest-based advertising in mobile apps and to opt out of this type of advertising by third-party advertising companies that participate in the DAAC’s AppChoices tool, please download the version of AppChoices for your device at https://youradchoices.ca/appchoices/.
To successfully opt-out, you must have cookies enabled in your web browser. Please see your browser’s instructions for information on cookies and how to enable them. Your opt-out only applies to the web browser you use so you must opt-out of each web browser on each device that you use. Once you opt out, if you delete your browser’s saved cookies, you may need to opt-out again.
Please note that even if you opt-out interest-based advertising by a third party, these tracking technologies may still collect data for other purposes including analytics and you will still see ads from us, but the ads will not be targeted based on behavioural information about you and may therefore be less relevant to you and your interests.
What if I apply for a Gap Inc. branded credit card on your site?
We may provide you with opportunities to apply for an offer of credit from a payment card issuer in our stores or online. To create a more convenient application process, we may provide information from your customer account to a payment card issuer in order to generate an pre-approved credit offer and/or prepopulate your online credit card application with information from your customer account By submitting a credit card application either in store or online, you acknowledge and agree that Gap Inc. may provide your information to the payment card issuer in accordance with the terms and conditions of the application. For information about the privacy practices associated with your credit card application, please contact the payment card issuer.
What if I participate in local store programs?
We may provide special opportunities for customers in certain stores or locations to receive personalized shopping or other services, such as notification when your favorite products will be in your local store, product recommendations, unique offers for certain community members such as teachers or fitness instructors, and invitations to special local events.
In order to provide these personalized services, a sales associate may ask for information about your interests, activities, shopping preferences and other people for whom you are shopping. We may also keep records of your sizing preferences, product wish lists, local store transaction history, and contact information. We may use your information to contact you by phone or text message, in accordance with this policy. In certain instances, you may also be able to authorize a sales associate to make purchases on your behalf using payment information you have previously provided during an online or in-store transaction.
How do I know my personal information is secure?
We do our best to provide you with a safe and convenient online experience. We have in place physical, electronic, contractual, and managerial safeguards to help protect the security and privacy of your personal information in our custody and control. In addition, it is important that you create strong a password and that you keep it secret. Do not share your password with anyone, and never share it in response to an email or phone request, even if it appears to be from a trusted company or person.
If for any reason you cannot access the secure server, or if you're not quite comfortable shopping online at any of our websites, please feel free to place your order with us by telephone at the number listed in the section entitled, "How do I contact you?", below.
What is "phishing"?
"Phishing" is a scam designed to steal your personal information. If you receive an email that looks like it is from us asking you for your personal information, do not respond. We will never request your password, user name, credit card information or other personal information through email.
I received a suspicious email from a Gap Inc. brand regarding an order I did not place. What should I do?
We are aware of phony emails sent out under our brand names. These emails did not originate from Gap Inc., and individuals who received fraudulent order status emails have not been charged. For your protection, do not click links or open any files attached to suspicious, unsolicited emails. If you believe your personal computer has been compromised as a result of the scam, please consult an IT professional. For more information, contact the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre at http://www.antifraudcentre-centreantifraude.ca/index-eng.htm or the CRTC’s Spam Reporting Centre at http://fightspam.gc.ca/eic/site/030.nsf/frm-eng/MMCN-9EZV6S. We work with law enforcement on their investigations of these kinds of fraudulent emails.
I responded to an online job posting for a Gap Inc. job that requires me to upload personal financial information. Is this part of your hiring process?
No. Gap Inc. does not ask prospective job applicants for information about their bank accounts, credit history or passwords to financial accounts. If you are asked for personal financial or security information in response to a job application, this is likely a fraudulent job listing hosted by spammers posing as Gap Inc. or its affiliates to mislead job applicants. You can validate all Gap Inc. and its affiliates’ job postings on gapinc.com/careers. Spammers also create phony aliases such as thegap-usa.com to mimic our company and/or brand names in an effort to commit identity theft or other forms of fraud. If you receive this type of suspicious email activity, please alert the Government of Canada's Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre at info@antifraudcentre.ca
What about links to other websites?
For your convenience and information, our websites may contain links to other sites, which may have privacy practices and policies that differ from our own. We are not responsible for the content or practices of any linked site. We recommend that you review the privacy Policy of any site that you access through our sites.
How do I contact you?
For questions about our privacy Policy, to make choices about receiving promotional communications, to access, or update or correct your personal information, or to place an order, you can contact any of our Gap Inc. brands by email, telephone, or postal mail. If you have other questions or concerns about our privacy Policy or the manner in which we or our service providers treat your personal information, please direct your communication to "ATTN: Gap inc., General Counsel".
Gap Canada Customer Service
13153 Coleraine Dr.
Bolton, ON L7E 3B6
Canada
1-800-GAPSTYLE (1-800-427-7895)
Please dial 711 for relay service
custserv@gapcanada.ca
Banana Republic Canada Customer Service
13153 Coleraine Dr.
Bolton, ON L7E 3B6
Canada
1-888-BR STYLE (1-888-277-8953)
Please dial 711 for relay service
custserv@bananarepublic.ca
Old Navy Canada Customer Service
13153 Coleraine Dr.
Bolton, ON L7E 3B6
Canada
1-800-OLD-NAVY (1-800-653-6289)
Please dial 711 for relay service
custserv@oldnavy.ca
Athleta Customer Service
5900 North Meadows Drive
Grove City, OH 43123
USA
1-877-3ATHLETA (1-877-328-4538)
Please dial 711 for relay service
custserv@athleta.com