Page Overview: Privacy Policy

BMW Privacy Policy

Effective 01/01/2020

1. General Privacy Statement

This Privacy Policy outlines the types of information BMW Manufacturing Co., LLC, its subsidiaries, affiliates, service providers, authorized third parties and its agents (collectively referred to herein as 'BMW MC') may collect through your use of any BMW MC website, or that you provide to BMW MC through other means, such as the BMW apps (the 'Sites'); how BMW MC may collect, use, or share information related to your use of the Sites; steps BMW MC takes to protect this information; and choices you are provided with respect to the use of this information. 

By visiting the Sites you understand and agree to the terms as outlined in this Privacy Policy. As business conditions change, we will update this policy to reflect changes in our business practices. We reserve the right to change our Privacy Policy at any time, but we will post revisions to our policy on our Sites and/or provide other notification before we do so as appropriate.

2. Online Privacy and Security

We appreciate the trust you place in BMW and would not want to jeopardize your trust in any way. Your privacy on the Internet is as important to us as your safety when driving a BMW which is why we at BMW Group believe in an active approach to safeguarding your privacy online. 

3. Confidentiality

In certain areas of the Sites you may choose to share personal information with us, such as your name, address, location information, or even your driving interests. We may use this information for marketing research and other marketing and service related purposes. We may share generic aggregated demographic information not linked to any personal information regarding visitors and users with our business partners, service providers, trusted affiliates and advertisers. With the limited exceptions below, we will not disclose any personal information you choose to share with us with anyone outside the BMW Group or outside our related companies or business partners all of whom are contractually obligated to keep personal information confidential:

We may share your personal information with a third party in the event that a division or product line of BMW Group is bought, sold or otherwise transferred, or is in the process of a potential transaction as among the transferred business assets, and so that the buyer of that product line or division can continue to provide you with information and services.

We reserve the right to disclose your personal information to respond to authorized information requests from government authorities, subpoenas or other litigation process or to protect the interests or safety of the Sites' visitors, customers, employees, or others, to address national security situations, or when otherwise required by law. This includes exchanging information with other companies and organizations for fraud protection and credit risk reduction.

Only with your explicit permission, we may share your personal information with our business partners that administer specific programs or provide specific offerings to you. 

A. What information does BMW collect?

As part of providing you with information about our products and services, we obtain 'personal information' about you, such as your name, address, email and phone number, when you submit such information to us. We also may obtain such information from third parties. 'Personal information' means information that identifies you or could reasonably be used to identify you. We also may collect other information about your visits to our Sites and other activities you undertake during or after your visit to the Sites without you actively submitting such information. This information may include, for example: your browser type and language, your operating system, your Internet Protocol (IP) address, the URLs of websites you visited before and after visiting our Sites, the web search that landed you on our Sites, the web pages and advertisements you view, and the links you click on within our Sites. For more information, see Cookies and Other Tracking Technologies below.

B. How does BMW use my personal information?

Our primary goal in collecting personal information from you is to facilitate efficient transactions and provide you with information regarding relevant products and services. We may also use your personal information to improve the Sites, notify you about updates to the Sites, and for internal business analysis or other business purposes consistent with our mission and to carry out other purposes that are disclosed to you and to which you consent. BMW will not rent or sell your personal information, except as specifically described in our policies.

C. What information does BMW share?

We share personal information with BMW Group affiliated companies as well as non-affiliated companies that provide services on our behalf. All of these companies are contractually obligated to keep the personal information that we provide to them confidential and to use such information only to provide the services we ask them to perform. 

D. Is my personal information secure?

We maintain physical, electronic and procedural safeguards designed to protect personal information. We also employ encryption technologies and user authentication procedures that are designed to keep your data secure. We limit access to personal information to authorized personnel, contractors and business partners who need access to perform their job and are contractually required to keep your information secure.

E. Privacy of Children

 We do not knowingly collect or use any personal information from children (we define 'children' as minors younger than 13) on our Sites without prior, verifiable parental consent. We do not knowingly allow children, communicate with us, or use any of our online services.

If you become aware that a child has provided us with personal information, please contact us at privacy.question@bmwmc.com or write: BMW Manufacturing Co., ATTENTION: Privacy Office, 1400 Highway 101 South Greer, SC 29651. We will take all reasonable measures to delete the information as soon as possible and to not use such information for any purpose, except where necessary to protect the safety of the child or others as required by law.

4. Links to Other Sites

Though our Sites contain links to other sites, we are not responsible for the content, links or privacy on any of those sites. We recommend that you review the Privacy Policy applicable to those sites before accessing them.

5. Email Links

We use email links throughout the Sites to allow you to contact us directly with any questions or comments you may have. We read and try to reply promptly to everyone. Information in the message is used to respond directly to your comments or questions. We may also file your comments to improve the Sites and programs, or review and discard the information. Your personal information is not shared with third parties except as noted in Section 3 of this policy without your express permission.

6. Phishing Scams

There is a type of e-mail solicitation commonly known as a 'phishing' scam, with the primary objective being to obtain one's personal information. This information can then be used to steal a person's identity. Examples of these types of scams are: requests for you to send passwords, login names, Social Security numbers, or other personal information through email, U.S. mail, fax or text message. BMW MC does not participate in this type of solicitation. Recipients of suspicious email like this should delete the message from their inbox and, if possible, update their e-mail filter settings to block emails from the e-mail address being used. The Federal Trade Commission and the Antiphishing Workgroup are also good sources of information about these types of security threats and how they may be reported to the authorities.

7. Fraud Warning

BMW MC does not send or confirm personal information by email, including but not limited to: your name, address, passwords or financial information. If you receive an email from someone purporting to be BMW, or a division of BMW, such as the Security Department or Lottery Department, asking for this type of information, DO NOT RESPOND TO IT. It is most likely a fraudulent email, the sole and only purpose of which is to elicit your personal information. To be safe, we recommend you add the sender to your blocked email or SPAM email list.


EXAMPLES OF RECENT FRAUDULENT EMAILS

Email from 'The International Awareness Promotion Department of the BMW Automobile Company'
You may have received an email claiming to be from BMW's International Awareness Promotion Department stating that you have won a prize. Please be informed that BMW MC does not have an International Awareness Promotion Department, nor do any of its affiliate companies. This is a fraudulent email. DO NOT RESPOND TO IT.

Email from 'BMW's Lottery Department'
You may have received an email claiming to be from BMW's Lottery Department stating that you have won a prize. Please be informed that BMW MC does not have a lottery department, nor do any of its affiliate companies. This is a fraudulent email. DO NOT RESPOND TO IT.

Email from 'BMW Group Promo'
You may have received an email claiming to be from BMW Group Promo stating that you have won a prize. Please be informed that BMW MC does not have a Group Promo department, nor do any of its affiliate companies. This is a fraudulent email. DO NOT RESPOND TO IT.

Email from 'BMW Automobile Company Promotion Department'
You may have received an email claiming to be from a BMW Automobile Company Promotion Department, using BMW's corporate ID, its proper address, and a 2016 copyright footer, stating that you have won a prize and asking for certain personal information. Please be informed that BMW MC does not have a BMW Automobile Company Promotion Department, nor do any of its affiliate companies. This is a fraudulent email. DO NOT RESPOND TO IT. 

EXAMPLE OF RECENT FRAUDULENT POSTAL MAIL

Mailing from an 'Automobile Transfer Div.' / 'Vehicle and Entitlement Assignment Division'
You may have received a request in the mail to contact the above-referenced Division concerning the consignment of a BMW vehicle or other entitlement, such as the vehicle's cash value, to you. To claim your entitlement you are asked to complete a form, pay a consignment fee and mail both to a PO Box in the Netherlands. Please be advised that BMW MC does not have an Automobile Transfer / Vehicle and Entitlement Assignment Division, nor do any of its affiliated companies either in the USA or the Netherlands. This is a fraudulent mailing. DO NOT RESPOND TO IT.

8. Sites Traffic Monitoring

We collect information about visits to our Sites by tracking Internet Protocol (IP) addresses or other identifiers. We use this information to determine how to make future visits more convenient and productive for all BMW enthusiasts. We may also collect device type, browser type, access time, and the URL where a user is entering or exiting the Sites.

 9. Cookies and Other Tracking Technologies

Cookies and similar technologies save you the trouble of reentering certain information in some areas, help to deliver content-specific information to you, and track which sections of the Sites are most popular. A 'cookie' is actually a file that our webserver or the webserver of one of our third-party partners may send to your computer when you access one of our Sites. This file is then stored on your computer.

A. Why do we use cookies and other tracking technologies?

We use cookies and related technologies for the following purposes:

i. After you have entered personal information into a form or data field on our Sites, cookies enable the Sites to 'remember' that information, should you so choose.

ii. Cookies and other passive information collection technologies enable us to deliver content that is tailored to your interests and preferences based on your past activity on the Sites.

iii. Cookies and other passive information collection technologies enable us to compile aggregate statistics concerning use of the Sites, analyze trends, and otherwise administer and improve the Sites.

B. What types of cookies and other tracking technologies do we use?

     Our Sites may use the following types of cookies and tracking technologies, among others:

i. 'Session' cookies: Session cookies are temporary bits of information that are erased once you exit your web browser window or otherwise turn your computer off. Session cookies are used, for example, to improve navigation on our Sites, block visitors from providing information where inappropriate (e.g., the website may remember previous entries of age that are outside the permitted parameters and block subsequent changes) and to collect aggregated statistical information.

ii. 'Persistent' cookies: Persistent cookies are more permanent bits of information that are placed on the hard drive of your computer and stay there unless you delete the cookie. Persistent cookies store information on your computer for a number of purposes, such as retrieving certain information you have previously provided, helping to determine what areas of the website visitors find most valuable, and customizing the website based on your preferences on an ongoing basis.

C. 'Web beacons' (also known as internet tags, single-pixel GIFs, clear GIFs, and invisible GIFs): A web beacon is a tiny graphic on a web page or in an email message that is used to track pages viewed or messages opened. Web beacons tell the Sites server information such as the IP address and browser type related to the visitor's computer. Web beacons may be placed on online advertisements that bring people to our Sites and on different pages of our Sites. Web beacons provide us with information on how many times a page is opened and which information is consulted.

9. Do Not Track

Do Not Track (DNT) is a privacy preference that users can set in some web browsers, allowing users to opt out of tracking by websites and online services. At the present time, the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) has not yet established universal standards for recognizable DNT signals and therefore, BMW MC and the Sites do not recognize DNT.

10. Questions and Comments

Please feel free to send your privacy-related to privacy.question@bmwmc.com or write: BMW Manufacturing Co., ATTENTION: Privacy Office, 1400 Highway 101 South Greer, SC 29651. In all written communications, please indicate that you are writing concerning BMWUSFactory.com. We will do our best to respond to all reasonable inquiries in a timely manner.  If you’re looking for the California Consumer Privacy Notice click here.