We know you care about how your personal information is used and shared, and we take your privacy seriously. We have developed this Product Privacy Policy to explain what information we collect from our users when using our hearing aid device and associated hardware (including but not limited to earpieces, Whisper Brain, charger, batteries and carrying case) (the foregoing “Hardware”), proprietary upgradeable software embedded on the Hardware (“Software”); and mobile phone application (the “Application”, “Whisper App” or the “App”) (collectively, the “Services”). Any terms we use in this Privacy Policy without defining them have the definitions given to them in the Product Terms of Use. By using or accessing the Services in any manner, you acknowledge that you accept the practices and policies outlined in this Privacy Policy, and you hereby consent that we will collect, use, and share your information in the following ways.
This Privacy Policy covers our treatment of personally identifiable information (“Personal Information”) that we gather when you access or use our Services. This Privacy Policy does not apply to the practices of companies we don’t own or control, or people that we don’t manage. We also have a separate privacy policy pertaining to our website that can be viewed here.
As noted in the Product Terms of Use, Whisper is not meant for persons under the age of 18. As such, we do not knowingly collect or solicit Personal Information from anyone under the age of 13. If you are under 13, please do not attempt to register for the Services or send any Personal Information about yourself to us. If we learn that we have collected Personal Information from a child under age 13, we will delete that information as quickly as possible. If you believe that a child under 13 may have provided us Personal Information, please contact us at [email protected].
Please note that at this time we do not offer our Services outside the United States. If you are not a resident of the United States, please do not sign up for the Services or send us your Personal Information.
Before going further, we consider it important to state what information Whisper does not collect. Whisper does not record or store your conversations. The information we collect and store, (as described below), does not enable us to reconstruct audible conversations between people.
Information You Provide
We receive and store any information you knowingly provide to us as well as to your audiologist and/or hearing aid dispenser when you’re evaluated for the Services and/or purchase Hardware. For example, during your evaluation, we may collect the following Personal Information which you may provide to your audiologist and/or hearing aid dispenser: your name, date of birth, billing and shipping address, and contact information (e.g. email, phone number, and third-party account credentials (for example, license number), sound preferences (e.g. whether you prefer sharp vs. soft sounds) and personal traits related to your hearing (e.g. the size of your ear canal). You may take or provide the results of certain hearing tests such as an audiogram and provide feedback about your experience using the Services (e.g. how well you can hear certain sounds and how well certain Hardware fits in your ear). You expressly acknowledge and agree that any audiologist and/or hearing aid dispenser to whom you provide any information in connection with the Services (including but not limited to the information described in this paragraph) may share such information with us. We use this information in accordance with this Privacy Policy, as further described below.
Information Collected Automatically
Whenever you interact with our Services, we automatically receive and record information on our server logs, which may include: usage information, such when and for how long you spend using different features of the Services and your settings on the Services (including volume, and how often you change these settings); performance information, such as battery life and device logs and crashes; acoustic information, such as audio frequencies and noise levels; and technical information, such as your IP address, geolocation data the type of Hardware and/or Software version you’re using to access our Services, and the page or feature you requested.
Information Collected from the Whisper App
The Whisper App allows you to customize and improve the performance of the Services for your individual use. If you use the Whisper App, we automatically receive certain information about the mobile device, tablet, or computer used to access the App, including a mobile device identifier, when you use and update the App, and your time spent using different settings and features of the App. Further, we sample the audio patterns in your environment to personalize the App. The App also enables users to update their Whisper Software. You may opt out of the Whisper App at any time; however, this only affects how we collect information from you after you have opted-out and does not limit what information received while you used the App.
Information Collected From Third-Party Accounts
If you provide your third-party account credentials to us or otherwise sign in to the Services through a third party site or service, you understand some content and/or information in those accounts (“Third-Party Account Information”) may be transmitted into your account with us, and that Third-Party Account Information transmitted to our Services is covered by this Privacy Policy. For example, you may be able to connect other streaming devices like phones, computers, or tablets with the Services through Bluetooth technology (further instructions about how to enable this feature are provided in the User Manual). For example, if you call someone from a phone that is connected to the Services through Bluetooth, we may automatically collect the number of the phone you are calling from (whether or not you use the Whisper App). Certain information may be required to register with us or to take advantage of some of our features.
Whisper will use and share your Personal Information only in the ways that are described in this Privacy Policy.
To provide you with Services and analyze and improve our Services.
We use the information described above to operate, provide, analyze and improve our Services. These activities may include, among other things, using your information in a manner consistent with this Privacy Policy to:
(a) open your account, communicate with you, and implement your requests;
(b) enable and enhance your use of our Services, including authenticating your visits, providing updates and personalized content and information, and tracking your usage of our Services;
(c) contact you about your account, and any relevant information about our Services (e.g., policy changes, security updates or issues, etc.);
(d) enforce our Terms of Use and other agreements;
(e) monitor, detect, investigate and prevent prohibited or illegal behaviors on our Services, to combat spam and other security risks; and
(f) perform research & development activities, which may include, for example, conducting data analysis and research in order to develop new or improve existing products and services, and performing quality control activities (provided any such information will be de-identified and will not be linked to your registration information).
We may share your Personal Information with third parties as described in this section:
Affiliated Businesses: In certain situations, businesses or third-party websites we’re affiliated with may sell or provide products or services to you through or in connection with the Services (either alone or jointly with us). For example, we are currently partnering with Allegro Credit to offer a hearing aid leasing program. We will share your Personal Information with that affiliated business only to the extent that it is related to such transaction or service. We have no control over the policies and practices of third-party websites or businesses as to privacy or anything else, so if you choose to take part in any transaction or service relating to an affiliated website or business, please review all such business’ or websites’ policies.
Agents: We engage other companies and people to perform tasks on our behalf and need to share your information with them to provide products or services to you; for example, we may use a payment processing company to receive and process your credit card transactions for us. Unless we tell you differently, our agents do not have any right to use the Personal Information we share with them beyond what is necessary to assist us. Note that an “agent” may also be considered a “partner” in certain circumstances and would be subject to the terms of the “Information that’s been de-identified” section in that regard.
Business Transfers: We may choose to buy or sell assets and may share and/or transfer customer information in connection with the evaluation of and entry into such transactions. Also, if we (or our assets) are acquired, or if we go out of business, enter bankruptcy, or go through some other change of control, Personal Information could be one of the assets transferred to or acquired by a third party.
Protection of Whisper and Others. We reserve the right to access, read, preserve, and disclose any information that we believe is necessary to comply with law or court order; enforce or apply our Product Terms of Use and other agreements; or protect the rights, property, or safety of Company, our employees, our users, or others.
Information that’s been de-identified. We may de-identify your Personal Information so that you are not identified as an individual and provide that information to our partners. We may also provide aggregate usage information to our partners (or allow partners to collect that information from you), who may use such information to understand how often and in what ways people use our Services, so that they, too, can provide you with an optimal online experience. However, except for the categories of sharing we described above, we never disclose aggregate usage or de-identified information to a partner (or allow a partner to collect such information) in a manner that would identify you as an individual person.
We use a variety of technologies and procedures to help protect the security of your Personal Information from unauthorized access, use, or disclosure. Whisper also maintains standard physical and electronic procedural safeguards that limit access to your Personal Information to our employees (or people working on our behalf and under confidentiality agreements) who, through the course of standard business activities, need to access your Personal Information.
We endeavor to protect the privacy of your account and other Personal Information we hold in our records, but unfortunately, we cannot guarantee complete security. Unauthorized entry or use, hardware or software failure, and other factors, may compromise the security of user information at any time.
Whisper is located in the United States and we will process and store your information, including your Personal Information, on servers in the United States.
You have the ability to access and update your registration information within your account settings.
Account deletion. To delete your information, contact [email protected]. Some information may remain in our records after your deletion of such information from your account. We may use any aggregated data derived from or incorporating your Personal Information after you update or delete it, but not in a manner that would identify you personally. We may also retain certain information for legal retention requirements (as further described in the section titled Protection of Whisper and Others).
Under California Civil Code Sections 1798.83-1798.84, California residents are entitled to contact us to prevent disclosure of Personal Information to third parties for such third parties’ direct marketing purposes; in order to submit such a request, please contact us at [email protected]. Additionally, California residents are entitled to ask us for a notice identifying the categories of Personal Information which we share with our affiliates and/or third parties for marketing purposes and providing contact information for such affiliates and/or third parties. If you are a California resident and would like a copy of this notice, please submit a written request to [email protected].
If you have any questions or concerns regarding our privacy policies, please send us a detailed message to [email protected], and we will try to resolve your concerns.
Copyright © 2021 Whisper
Models, not actual patients. Results may vary. Whisper, the Whisper logo, Whisper Hearing System, Whisper Brain, and Tomorrow Sounds Even Better are registered trademarks of Whisper.ai, Inc.