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Hayward® - Remote Pool Control Website

Terms of Use

This website (the “Site”) is published and maintained by Hayward® Industries, Inc. (the “Company”), primarily to allow owners of Hayward® swimming pool controllers and the pool service companies that are allowed to service those swimming pools the ability to remotely monitor and control their swimming pools (the “Service”). When you access, browse, or use this Site or take advantage of the Service you accept and agree to, without limitation or qualification, the terms and conditions set forth below.

Your Right to Use the Site and the Service

Aqua Connect™ Home Network (the “Gateway”) is a gateway device that allows the Hayward pool controller to connect to the Site. There are two possible scenarios that will be considered here. In the first, the owner of the pool (the “Pool Owner”) and the owner of the Gateway (the “Gateway Owner”) are the same individual. In the second the Pool Owner and the Gateway Owner are different. A common example of the later scenario is when a pool service provider installs a Gateway that they own on a pool that they do not own as part of a service contract or agreement with the Pool Owner.

In addition to the Pool Owner and the Gateway Owner, there may be other individuals who are given access to the Site by permission of either the Pool Owner or the Gateway Owner (the “Registered Guests”). These individuals may be, but are not limited to, friends or relatives of the Pool Owner or employees of the Gateway Owner. This Terms of Use Agreement is for ALL users of the Site; the Pool Owner, the Gateway Owner, and all Registered Guests.

The Site and the Service are intended only for the Gateway Owner, the Pool Owner, and any Registered Guests that either the Gateway Owner or the Pool Owner choose to allow. Upon the creation of your login account the Company will issue you a username and allow you to select a password to access the Service. You are not authorized to access the Service through use of any username other than the one issued to you by the Company upon registration.

The Gateway Owner agrees to (i) provide accurate, current and complete information as may be prompted by any registration forms for the Service (“Registration Information”); (ii) maintain and promptly update the Registration Information and any other information they provide to the Company, to keep it accurate, current and complete; (iii) maintain the confidentiality of your username and password to access the Service; and (iv) accept full responsibility for all consequences of all actions initiated and all conduct that occurs under your username and password.

The Gateway Owner also accepts full responsibility for all consequences of all actions initiated and conducted that occur under any username that is a sub-account of the Gateway Owners login account. These would be Pool Owners and Registered Guests to whom the Gateway Owner has extended access privileges.

In all usage cases your authorization to access and use the Service with your username and password extends only while you conform to the Terms of Use contained in this document.

As long as you comply with these Terms and Conditions of Use, the Company grants you a non-exclusive, non-transferable, limited right to enter, display, and use the Site and the Service. You agree not to interrupt or attempt to interrupt the operation of the Site or the Service in any way. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary, the Company reserves the right, without notice and in its sole discretion, to cancel or restrict your access to and use of the Service.

Ownership

All materials on the Site, including but not limited to audio, images, software, text, artwork, video clips and other materials (the "Content") are protected by copyright under U.S. copyright law, international conventions, and other copyright laws. You shall not copy, capture, reproduce, perform, transfer, sell, license, modify, manipulate, create derivative works from or based upon, republish, upload, edit, post, transmit, publicly display, frame, link, distribute, or exploit, in whole or in part, the Site or the Content. There are a number of proprietary logos, service marks, and trademarks found on the Site, all of which are owned by, or licensed to, or otherwise authorized for use by the Company. By making them available on the Site, the Company is not granting you any license to utilize those proprietary logos, service marks, or trademarks. Any unauthorized use of the Content may violate copyright laws, trademark laws, the laws of privacy and publicity, and civil and criminal statutes.

If you download any Content from the Site, you may not remove any copyright or trademark notices or other notices that accompany it.

Rights to User's Material

The Company welcomes your feedback, and is pleased to have you submit your comments regarding its products, this Site and the Service. However, we request that you be specific in your comments, and that you do not voluntarily submit any ideas, suggestions or materials related to the business of the Company or the content or operation of the Site or the Service. If, despite this request, you do voluntarily submit any ideas, suggestions or materials related to the business of the Company or the content or operation of the Site or the Service (“Submissions”), these Submissions shall be deemed, and shall remain, the exclusive property of the Company. No Submissions shall be subject to any obligation of confidence on the part of the Company, and the Company shall not be liable for any use or disclosure of any Submissions. Without limitation of the foregoing, the Company shall exclusively own the copyright, patent rights, and all now known or hereafter existing rights to the Submissions of every kind and nature, in perpetuity, throughout the universe, and the Company shall be entitled to use, reproduce, modify, adapt, publish, translate, license, create derivative works from and distribute such materials or incorporate such Submissions into any form, medium, or technology now known or later developed throughout the universe, for any purpose whatsoever, commercial or otherwise, without compensation to the author(s) or provider(s) of the Submissions.

Security of Electronic Transmissions

Even though the entire site is https encrypted, Internet transmissions are never completely private or secure. You understand that any communication you send to this Site, including while accessing and using the Service, may be read or intercepted by others, unless there is a special notice that a particular message is encrypted. Sending an e-mail message to the Company does not create any reciprocal obligation or responsibility of the Company to you.

Links to Other Websites

The Site may contain links to other Internet sites on the World Wide Web. The Company provides such links for your convenience only, and is not responsible for the content of any website linked to or from the Site. Links from the Site to any other website do not indicate that the Company approves of, endorses, sponsors, or recommends that website. The Company disclaims all warranties, express or implied, as to the accuracy, legality, reliability, or validity of any content on any other website.

Availability of the Service

The Service may not be available in your particular country, state or locality. Even where the Service is available, access and use may be limited based your method of electronically connecting to the Service and the security and data transmission rate of that connection. The Service will be unavailable for access each Sunday from 10:00 p.m. through 4:00 a.m. (Eastern U.S. Time) for maintenance. The Service may become unavailable at other times due to due to circumstances beyond the control of the Company. At such times every reasonable effort will be made to restore the Service in a timely manner, but the Company cannot guarantee that the Service will be continuous.

Effectiveness of the Service

The Service may not allow you to take advantage of all features of your Hayward® swimming pool controller or permit you to remotely control all functions of your swimming pool that can be accomplished manually with this controller. Furthermore, the Company does not warrant that your efforts to remotely control your swimming pool through the Service will be effective.

Right to Change These Terms and Conditions of Use or Site Content

The Company may add to, change, or remove any part of these Terms and Conditions of Use at any time, without notice. Any changes to these Terms and Conditions of Use or any terms posted on the Site apply as soon as they are posted. By continuing to use the Site or the Service after any changes are posted, you are indicating your acceptance of and agreement to those changes. Furthermore, the Company may add, change, discontinue, remove, or suspend any other Content posted on or functionality of the Site, including the Service, temporarily or permanently, at any time, without notice and without liability.

Disclaimer of Warranties and Damages

YOUR USE OF THE SITE IS AT YOUR OWN RISK. THE SITE (INCLUDING THE SERVICE AND ALL OTHER CONTENT AND FUNCTIONS MADE AVAILABLE ON OR ACCESSED THROUGH THE SITE) IS PROVIDED "AS IS." TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMISSIBLE BY APPLICABLE LAW, THE COMPANY DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, IMPLIED WARRANTIES AND CONDITIONS OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, WORKMANLIKE EFFORT, TITLE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. FURTHERMORE, THE COMPANY DOES NOT WARRANT THAT THE SERVER THAT MAKES THE SITE AND THE SERVICE AVAILABLE IS FREE OF VIRUSES OR OTHER HARMFUL COMPONENTS THAT MAY INFECT, HARM, OR CAUSE DAMAGE TO YOUR COMPUTER EQUIPMENT OR ANY OTHER PROPERTY WHEN YOU ACCESS, BROWSE, DOWNLOAD FROM, OR OTHERWISE USE THE SITE OR THE SERVICE.

Note that it is possible to damage your pool, make it unsafe for bathing, or generate unexpectedly high utility bills if you misuse your pool controller. Since the remote control portion of the Service gives you full control over the pool controller, you can, by extension, damage your pool, make it unsafe for bathing, or generate unexpectedly high utility bills if you misuse the pool controller via the Service. There is an additional risk of damage via the Service since you are operating the pool remotely; there may be nobody on site to observe what is actually happening.

Limitation of Liability

UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE COMPANY’S NEGLIGENCE, SHALL THE COMPANY BE LIABLE FOR ANY CONSEQUENTIAL, DIRECT, INCIDENTAL, INDIRECT, PUNITIVE, OR SPECIAL DAMAGES THAT RESULT FROM (A) THE USE OF, (B) THE INABILITY TO USE, OR (C) ERRORS OR OMISSIONS IN THE CONTENTS AND FUNCTIONS OF, THE SITE OR THE SERVICE, EVEN IF THE COMPANY OR AN AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVE OF THE COMPANY HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. SOME STATES DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF CONSEQUENTIAL OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES, SO THE ABOVE LIMITATION OR EXCLUSION MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE COMPANY'S TOTAL LIABILITY TO YOU FOR ALL DAMAGES, LOSSES, AND CAUSES OF ACTION (WHETHER IN CONTRACT OR TORT, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) EXCEED $100.00.

General Provisions

These Terms and Conditions of Use and any additional terms posted on the Site together constitute the entire agreement between the Company and you with respect to your use of the Site and the Service. Any alleged claim or cause of action you may have with respect to your use of the Site or the Service must be commenced in the state or federal courts of Rhode Island within one (1) year after the alleged claim or cause of action arises. If, for any reason, a court of competent jurisdiction finds any provision of these Terms and Conditions of Use, or any portion thereof, to be unenforceable, that provision or portion shall be deemed severable, and shall not affect the validity and enforceability of any remaining provision of these Terms and Conditions of Use. These Terms and Conditions of Use shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Rhode Island, United States of America, without reference to its conflicts of law rules.

Hayward® - Remote Pool Control Website

Privacy Policy

Hayward Industries, Inc. (the “Company”), understands the importance of protecting the privacy of its customers and visitors to this website (the “Site”). We believe our privacy policy and the way we handle your data is consumer friendly. To that end we would like to explain to you some of the features of the Site so that you can fully understand the implications of our Privacy Policy.

Highlights

Our servers store operating history of your pool.

We use this telemetry from your pool to provide the data that you access in your login account, or in the login account you authorized when contracting a pool service.

We also use aggregate data (data sets run through algorithms) to help us make our products better.

We will not sell or share to 3rd parties any personally identifiable data for marketing purposes.

You can opt-out of Hayward marketing messages.

Introduction

Aqua Connect™ Home Network (the “Gateway”) is a gateway device that allows the Hayward pool controller to connect to the Site. There are two possible scenarios that will be considered in this policy. In the first the owner of the pool (the “Pool Owner”) and the owner of the Gateway (the “Gateway Owner”) are the same individual. In the second the Pool Owner and the Gateway Owner are different. A common example of the later scenario is when a pool service company installs a Gateway that they own on a pool they do not own as part of a service contract or agreement with the Pool Owner.

In addition to the Pool Owner and the Gateway Owner, there may be other individuals who are given access to the Site by permission of either the Pool Owner or the Gateway Owner (the “Registered Guests”). These individuals may be, but are not limited to, friends or relatives of the Pool Owner or employees of the Gateway Owner. This Privacy Policy is for ALL users of the Site; the Pool Owner, the Gateway Owner, and all Registered Guests.

To offer the features described herein, the Company will collect and store a user profile for each pool and for each user account with equipment and contact information. The Company will not share this personally identifiable data (the “Personal Data”) with 3rd party companies for marketing purposes. The Company may employ contract companies to assist the delivery of the Aqua Connect product, and these companies will also handle the Personal Data. All internal and contract employees are bound by confidentiality agreements, and are required and trained to protect the privacy of your Personal Data.

The Company will also collect, upload, and store telemetry from your Hayward pool control via the Gateway, which will indicate both automated activities and user initiated activity as they happen on the pool control, as well as water quality measurements. This continuously uploaded telemetry (the “Telemetry”) is what allows both the Pool Owner and the Gateway Owner to remotely monitor and control the pool from the Site, check the status of the pool over time, etc. This automatic Telemetry upload will begin as soon as the Gateway is installed on the pool controller, connecting the pool to the Site. The automatic Telemetry upload is independent of whether or not the Pool Owner or the Gateway Owner has a valid user account on the Site.

Contained in the Telemetry are Pool Owner habits and activities that will be stored on the Company servers. For example, every time someone uses a spa they turn on the heater, the jets, etc. and this information is included in the Telemetry that is uploaded to the Site. A record of when this spa is used is thus stored on the Company servers and uniquely associated with the spa. Therefore the Company considers Telemetry that is associated with an individual pool or spa to be Personal Data.

If a pool service provider managing multiple pools owns multiple Gateways then the Site contains a customer list for that pool company as well as contact information for every one of the customers who have Gateways installed (the “Customer Information”). The Company understands that the privacy of this Customer Information is critical to your business.

The Company may use the Personal Data associated with each pool and each user account to contact the Pool Owner, the Gateway Owner, and Registered Guests on important product announcements, service bulletins, and occasional marketing offers. All user account holders will be able to specify their communication preferences at any time, and thus opt-out of these communications.

The pool service provider that is a Gateway Owner may elect to withhold the contact information of their customers from the Company. They may do this by limiting the information that is entered when a Gateway is registered or a customer sub-account is created. Even if a field is required, the pool service provider can use their own information rather than their customer’s information (for example, they can always use the pool service provider email address and phone number rather than the customers).

The Company may also use the Telemetry to compute trends or alarms that occur on an individual pool, and we may report these trends or alarms to the Pool Owner, the Gateway Owner, and Registered Guests via email / message alerts that have been specified in the user accounts. The Company cannot be responsible for mistakes made by the Pool Owner, the Gateway Owner, or the Registered Guests in the user settings that may misdirect communications to an unintended party.

The Company will not use Personal Data for purposes other than supporting the features we are offering to you.

For the purposes of the Company we may run queries or math functions on the Telemetry from many different pools or user accounts. These queries or math functions will strip out the Personal Data, and thus the data output from the queries or math functions becomes anonymous and is then used for other purposes. The Company may use such aggregate data to do studies on how to improve the reliability or usability of our product offering.

This Privacy Policy discloses the Company’s practices relating to collection, use and disclosure of both the Personal Data that you may provide to the Company through this Site, and the Telemetry that is automatically uploaded to the Site by the Aqua Connect Home Network device. Before you submit any personal information to the Company through this Site or otherwise, and before you install your Aqua Connect Home Network and allow Telemetry to be continually uploaded to the Site, please thoroughly review this Privacy Policy, and contact us if you have any questions.

Intended Audience of this Site and the Service

This Site is primarily intended to allow owners of Hayward swimming pool controllers and the pool service professionals that they contract with the ability to remotely monitor and control their swimming pools and / or spas (the “Service”). This Site and the Service are not intended to attract or be used by individuals under the age of 18 without verifiable parental consent, and the Company will not knowingly collect personal information from such visitors.

Your Consent

By installing a Gateway or by allowing a pool service company to install a Gateway, and by using this Site and the Service, you agree with and accept the terms of this Privacy Policy. This holds for ALL users of the Site: Pool Owners, Gateway Owners, and Registered Guests.

As a Pool Owner, whenever you submit Personal Information through this Site and access and use the Service, and for the duration of time that the Gateway is uploading Telemetry to the Site from your pool, you consent to the collection, disclosure, use and retention of that information in accordance with this Privacy Policy.

As a Gateway Owner, whenever you submit Personal Information or Customer Information directly to the Site, or allow your customers to submit Personal Information directly to the Site, and for the duration of time that any of your customers has a Gateway actively uploading Telemetry to the Site, you consent to the collection, disclosure, use and retention of that information in accordance with this Privacy Policy.

As a Registered Guest, whenever you submit Personal Information to the Site you consent to the collection, disclosure, use and retention of that information in accordance with this Privacy Policy.

Collection of Information About You

The Company collects Personal Information from its customers and visitors to this Site primarily to assist in optimizing their ability to remotely control their swimming pools through their Hayward swimming pool controllers and the Gateway. The Company collects such information directly from you through this Site, in responses to our specific requests and via e-mail and web input screens and forms. The types of Personal Information we collect include your name, company, department, address, telephone number, facsimile number, and e-mail address.

When the Gateway Owner is different than the Pool Owner, the Gateway Owner must provide Personal Information to the Company about the Pool Owner. The Company requires that the Gateway Owner has permission from the Pool Owner prior to the submission of this information to the Company.

When either the Gateway Owner or the Pool Owner enables a Registered Guest, the Gateway Owner or the Pool Owner must provide Personal Information to the Company about the Registered Guest. The Company requires that the Gateway Owner or the Pool Owner has permission from the Registered Guest prior to the submission of this information to the Company.

The Company also collects information related to the Hayward swimming pool controller, the swimming pool equipment that it controls, and the state of the swimming pool via the Telemetry upload.

All of the Personal Data collected by the Company becomes the property of the Company. This Personal Data is always accessible to the Gateway Owner, may be accessible to the Pool Owner, and may be accessible to the Registered Guest. The Gateway Owner controls access to the Personal Data to the Pool Owner and the Registered Guests.

You should carefully limit the personal information you voluntarily provide to strictly that which is necessary for the Company to assist in optimizing your ability to remotely control your swimming pool through your Hayward swimming pool controller and the Gateway.

When enabling a Registered Guest you should carefully limit the Personal Data that you make available to them.

Automatic Collection of Information

As you navigate this Site, certain limited information can and may be collected automatically from you without your active involvement, using methods known as cookies and navigational data collection. Some of the information (e.g., type of web browser) does not identify who you are. Other information, such as your Internet Protocol (“IP”) address, may identify you indirectly, when supplemented with other commercially available sources of information.

When you visit this Site, we may send to your computer one or more cookies, which are small text files containing a string of characters. These cookies uniquely identify your computer and your swimming pool controller and equipment to the Site. We may use cookies to improve the quality of the Site and the Service by storing user preferences and tracking user trends. Most web browsers are set up to accept cookies, but you can reset your browser to refuse all cookies or to indicate when a cookie is being sent. However, some features of this Site and the Service may not function properly if your cookies are disabled.

Furthermore, the Company computer servers automatically record information that your browser sends whenever you visit a website. These server logs may include information, such as the portions of the Site accessed, the IP address assigned to your computer, the type of browser used by your computer, the date and time of your access to the Site, and one or more cookies that may uniquely identify your computer.

We also automatically upload, record, and preserve your swimming pool equipment and sensor status via the Telemetry. This Telemetry occurs continuously, not just when you log onto the Site and access and use the Service.

Collection, Disclosure, Use and Retention of Information

Except as otherwise stated at the point of collection, we may use your information for improving the content of the Site and the Service, customizing this Site and the Service to your preferences, communicating information to you and subsequently updating such information, internal marketing and research purposes, and as further specified in this Privacy Policy. We may combine such information with other passively or actively collected information unless we specify otherwise at the point of collection.

The Company may transfer your information, including Personal Data and Telemetry data, to third parties, including contractors we use to support our business (e.g., marketing services, fulfillment services, technical support, delivery services, and financial institutions), in which case we will require such third parties to agree to treat your information in accordance with this Privacy Policy or as you may otherwise have previously consented. We do not share your Personal Data or Telemetry with third parties for their direct marketing purposes unless you have affirmatively agreed in advance to such a disclosure.

The Company also may transfer such information (i) in connection with the sale, assignment or other transfer of the business function of the Company to which the information relates, in which case we will require any such buyer, assignee or transferee to agree to treat it in accordance with this Privacy Policy; or (ii) in compliance with subpoenas or other valid court orders, in response to inquiries and requests from regulatory authorities, in connection with the prevention or detection of fraud, or as otherwise permitted or required by law. In addition, we will make full use of all information acquired through this Site and Service or otherwise that is not identifiable to you.

Choices for Disclosure and Use of Information

You may choose to prevent the Company from disclosing or using your Personal Data and Telemetry under certain circumstances. You may opt out of any disclosure or use of your Personal Data or Telemetry for purposes that are incompatible with the purpose(s) for which it was originally collected or for which you subsequently gave authorization.

Access and Correction

All of your Personal Data that is not Telemetry is accessible on the Site via your user account. You may correct inaccuracies in that information at any time you are logged on. Most of the Telemetry data stored on the servers is also accessible on the Site via your user account, but Telemetry cannot be modified. Most Telemetry data can be downloaded from the Site by any login account with access to the pool.

Security

The Company takes reasonable measures to safeguard your personal information and telemetry data against unauthorized access, disclosure, copying, use or modification, whether or not in electronic format. We use industry-standard technological precautions, such as Secure Socket Layer technology in an effort to protect your Personal Data and Telemetry data as it is transmitted electronically from your computer to this Site and the Service and, furthermore, to protect it from loss, misuse and unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration or destruction. Furthermore, the Company requires that employees and third-party administrators / processors access your Personal Data and Telemetry data only on a “need-to-know” basis.

You should keep in mind that no combination of security measures can ever provide guaranteed protection all the time. We caution you that e-mail may be particularly vulnerable to unauthorized interception, eavesdropping, modification and spoofing, and, therefore, you should take special care in deciding what information you send to us via e-mail. Moreover, where you use passwords, identification numbers or other special access features on this Site, it is your responsibility to safeguard them.

Enforcement

The Company has in place procedures for maintaining the confidentiality of Personal Data and Telemetry data. Any questions, concerns or complaints regarding this Privacy Policy or the Company’s treatment of personal information or telemetry data may be communicated by contacting us through this Site, sending an e-mail message to us at [email protected] or by writing to us at Privacy Officer, Hayward Industries, Goldline Controls Division, 61 Whitecap Drive, North Kingstown, RI 02852. When we receive a formal written complaint, our Privacy Officer will contact the author within a reasonable period of time regarding his or her concerns and attempt to resolve these concerns directly with this individual.

Links to Other Websites

This Site may contain links or references to third-party websites that are not affiliated with the Company. The inclusion of any link does not imply the Company’s endorsement of any other company, its websites, or its products and/or services. Any such linked websites have separate and independent privacy policies which we encourage you to read carefully. Please be aware that the Company has no control over linked third-party websites and, therefore, no responsibility or liability for the manner in which the organizations that operate such websites may collect, disclose, use or otherwise treat your personal information.

Other Terms

Your use of this Site is subject to our Terms of Use.

How to Contact Us

To correct or update any personal information or access any telemetry data previously collected by us, please follow instructions at the original point of collection on this Site, send an e-mail message to us at [email protected] or write to us at Privacy Officer, Hayward Industries, Goldline Controls Division, 61 Whitecap Drive, North Kingstown, RI 02852.

Changes to This Privacy Policy

If this Privacy Policy changes, the revised policy will be posted on this Site. Please check back periodically and especially before you provide any personal information to the Company. This Privacy Policy was last updated on October 6, 2009.