Backblaze Policies

Backblaze Privacy Notice

Last updated: February 12, 2020

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We value your business and we know privacy is important to you. It’s important to us, too.

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This Privacy Notice describes how we collect and use your personal information, what we do with the information collected, and how you can exercise your privacy rights.

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Certain countries and states, such as the European Union and the state of California, have enacted specific data protection and privacy rules for their residents. Some of these rules overlap, but some don’t. In order to make this privacy notice as understandable as possible, we have split our information into a common notice (where we provide you with information which is generally required), and separate notices specific to certain jurisdictions.

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Please also review our Terms of Service and Data Processing Addendum which describe what we can expect from each other when you use our products and services.

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Who We Are and What We Do

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Backblaze, Inc. (“Backblaze”) is a US-headquartered data storage provider that offers two different services:

Computer Backup , which provides unlimited cloud backup for individuals and organizations using Macs or PCs (laptops and desktops); and
B2 Cloud Storage , which provides low-cost cloud storage for individuals and organizations.

You can contact us as described in the How To Contact Us paragraph.

Under EU data protection legislation, commonly known as the GDPR, Backblaze is the controller of processing of personal information described below. With regard to the processing of files uploaded to our platform by our users when using our Computer Backup and B2 Cloud Storage services, however, Backblaze is the processor and the person or organization owning the Backblaze account is the controller. We explain more about the distinction between a controller and a processor under EU data protection legislation here.

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The Personal Information We Collect

When you use our services, you upload your files to store with us. We call this content your files.

We also collect certain information about you in the course of providing our products. We call this your personal information.

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Personal information you provide to us

When requesting to use Backblaze's services we may ask you to provide personal information to us. For example, when you create a Backblaze account, we will ask you for your email address and a password. We may also ask for your phone number for purposes such as two-factor verification or for sending you service alerts. If you choose to sign up for one of Backblaze's services, we will ask you for billing information. To order a physical item from us, such as a Restore by Mail, we will ask for shipping details. At times we may ask for other information such as your name or the name of your company name.

During your interaction with Backblaze, you may choose to provide us with personal information when you email us, chat with us, answer a survey, comment on our blog, or communicate with us through social media services like Twitter or Facebook.

If you refer a friend to Backblaze, we will ask you for their email address. Backblaze will then contact your referred friend to determine whether your friend consents to us contacting them.

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Personal information that we collect automatically

Our Computer Backup service automatically backs up your files to Backblaze; B2 Cloud Storage allows you to upload your files to our service. While the content of your files may include personally identifiable information, both in the content of a file and in metadata, this Privacy Notice, as stated at the outset, only applies to the information collected in respect of your account and not to the content that you store on our system.

When you use any Backblaze product we may collect certain information automatically from and about your device. This includes data about your software, the operating system you use when accessing our service, your Internet Protocol address and the date and time of each request you make to Backblaze. When you use our backup services, we will also receive information such as the names of external drives, file types transferred, and number, name and size of files transferred.

Collecting this information enables us to better diagnose problems with our products, provide customer support more effectively, inform you about operating systems we no longer support as well as ensure the continuous functionality of our products.

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Personal information that we collect from third parties

We may collect additional information about you from third parties primarily to assist us in understanding how we can maintain and improve the services we offer to better serve you. The type of information we collect from third party tools that we use may include: user's clicks to test different versions of our website; recordings of where people move their mouse on key web pages; page visits which in turn allows Backblaze to decide if it needs to update certain pages; surveys, which users can voluntarily complete, and a user's IP address. Please also review our Backblaze Cookie Statement.

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What We Do With Your Personal Information

Under no circumstances do we rent, trade, or share your address or e-mail address with any other company for their marketing purposes without your consent. We may use the information we collect through our products for a number of reasons, including to:

provide, operate, optimize, and maintain our online platforms, products, and services;
understand how you use our products and customize your experience;
set up online accounts;
process, fulfill, and provide any updates on online orders;
send you marketing communications we think you'll find valuable, where it is in accordance with your preferences;
provide customer support via online chat services; deal with your online enquiries and requests sent by email; and provide you with information and access to resources or services that you have requested from us;
improve the layout, navigation, and content of our online products;
identify any server problems or other IT or network issues;
prevent abuse of the products and services we offer;
investigate and prevent fraudulent transactions; unauthorized access to our product and services; and other illegal activities; and
carry out other legitimate business purposes, such as to improve our products and services, as well as other lawful purposes about which we will notify our users and clients.‍

Email Communications

From time to time, Backblaze will communicate with you via email. There are two types of email you may receive:

Service Emails: These are service related emails such as confirmation of password change, expiration of credit card, or a reply to a support issue. You cannot opt out of receiving these messages as they are part of the service which Backblaze provides to you. You can manage certain Service Emails by signing into your Account. To stop receiving all Service Emails, you must cancel the service, delete your account, and uninstall the Backblaze software from your devices.
Marketing Emails: These will include Backblaze company news, tips-and-tricks, service promotions (e.g., refer-a-friend) and similar types of material. Upon creating a Backblaze Account you will be able to manage your email preferences, including opting out of receiving all Marketing Emails. You will also be able to unsubscribe at any time by using the unsubscribe link provided in any given email or through our What types of Email Does Backblaze Send? website.

We will only process personal information in ways that are compatible with the purpose we collected it for or for the purposes you later authorize. Before we use your personal information for a purpose that is materially different than the purpose we collected it for or that you later authorized, we will provide you with the opportunity to opt-out.

Who We Share Your Information With

We may share and disclose your personally identifiable information only in the limited circumstances described below:

To vendors and other third-party service providers who require access to your personal information to assist in providing and improving our products and services. For example, with third-party service providers to: assist us in processing your payment; enable us to send you marketing emails, subject to your preferences; communicate service emails to you; used to send SMS messages to you when you use our 2-factor authentication feature; and facilitate our customer support and online chat service. For further information, please also refer to our Cookie Statement.
We may also disclose your personal information or your files to third parties: (a) where required by law or regulatory requirement, court order, or other judicial authorization, (b) in response to lawful requests by public authorities, including for the purposes of meeting national security and law enforcement requirements; (c) in connection with the sale, transfer, merger, bankruptcy, restructuring, or other reorganization of a business; (d) to protect or defend our rights, interests, or property, or that of third parties; (e) to investigate any wrongdoing in connection with our products and services; and (f) to protect the vital interests of an individual.
If you sign up for our services through a referral from a friend, we may share your personal information with your referrer to let them know that you used their referral to sign up for our services.
If you use our services as part of a business, group, or organization where Backblaze was set up by an administrator, the administrator may be able to access and control your account and your files. Refer to your organization's internal policies for more information.
B2 Cloud Storage users can give third parties the ability to access information and content in their account (e.g., through APIs). When other services access and use your information, their conduct is governed by their own terms and policies.
Certain features in our services give you the ability to share your personal information and your files with other people.
We may disclose aggregate, non-identifying information about how our users use Backblaze products.

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Data Retention

We will retain your personal information for the period necessary to fulfill the purposes outlined in this Privacy Notice unless a longer retention period is required. Reasons we might retain some data for longer periods of time include:

Security, fraud, and abuse prevention;
Financial record-keeping;
Complying with legal or regulatory requirements;
Ensuring the continuity of our services; and
Direct communications with Backblaze.

When we have no ongoing legitimate business need to process your personal information, we will either delete or anonymize it or, if this is not possible (for example, because your personal information has been stored in backup archives), then we will securely store your personal information and isolate it from any further processing until deletion is possible.

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How We Protect Your Information

When you enter personal information such as a credit card number on our website or via our App we encrypt that information using secure socket layer technology (SSL). For purchases made online with credit cards, we receive your credit card number in encrypted form, and transfer it to our credit card processor, Stripe, for processing. Our employees do not have access to this information. We do not store PIN data or 3-digit security codes.

We use appropriate technical and organizational security measures to protect your personal information from loss, misuse, and unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, and destruction, both during transmission and once we receive it. However, no method of transmission over the Internet, or method of electronic storage, is 100% secure. Therefore, we cannot guarantee its absolute security

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Cookies and Similar Tracking Technology

Like all e-commerce websites we use cookies and similar tracking technology (collectively "Cookies") to collect and use personal information about you. For further information about the types of Cookies we and our partners' use, why and how you can control Cookies, please see our Cookie Statement.
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Your Data Protection and Privacy Rights and Choices

Certain countries and states have enacted data protection and privacy rights for their residents. We strive to respect these rights for all our users, no matter where they happen to be located.

For example, you may:

Request access your personal information that Backblaze collects about you.
Request correction, updates, or deletion of your personal information.
Request portability of your personal information where applicable and technically possible. You can find more information on objecting to, or restricting certain processing here.
Withdraw your consent for us to process your personal information, if you have given us consent in the past. Withdrawing your consent will not affect the lawfulness of any processing we conducted prior to your withdrawal, nor will it affect processing of your personal information conducted in reliance on lawful processing grounds other than consent.

User requests are subject to the following caveats:

We need to verify your account ownership to process your request.
Where a nation or state’s law provides rights that are different than those in other jurisdictions, we aim to respect your rights as provided by the law of your country.
Some types of requests are subject to certain exceptions as provided in applicable law.

Additional information for EEA visitors/customers

You can review more information as required under European data protection rules about our handling of your personal data and your data subject rights here.

Additional information for California consumers

The California Consumer Privacy Act gives California residents additional rights and choices regarding their personal information. To learn more, read our Privacy Notice for California Residents here.

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To exercise your privacy rights by submitting a data subject request please complete this form.

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How We Link to Other Websites

Our website contains links to third party websites and third-party plug-ins (such as social media sharing buttons) operated by other companies. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of such other websites. We encourage you to be aware that when you leave our site you read the privacy notices of such other websites. This Privacy Notice applies solely to information collected by Backblaze's products.

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Do Not Track

Some browsers make it possible for you to signal that you don’t want your Internet browsing activity to be tracked. Because the Internet community hasn’t reached a consensus on how to best honor these signals, Backblaze doesn’t respond to Do-Not-Track requests at this time.
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Changes to This Privacy Notice

Changes to this Privacy Notice will be made when required in response to changing legal, technical, or business developments. When we update our Privacy Notice, we will take appropriate measures to inform you, consistent with the significance of the changes we make. We will obtain your consent to any material Privacy Notice changes if and where this is required by applicable data protection laws.

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You can see when this Privacy Notice was last updated by checking the “last updated” date displayed at the top of this Privacy Notice. The new Privacy Notice will apply to all current and past users of the website and will replace any prior notices that are inconsistent with it.

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How to Contact Us

If you have any questions or concerns regarding the collection, use, or disclosure of your personal information, you can contact us by sending an email to privacyrequest@backblaze.com or by contacting us at:

201 Baldwin Avenue,
San Mateo, CA 94401, U.S.
+1 650-352-3738

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