Privacy Statement for the Delta Dental Plans Association Website and Mobile App

Delta Dental Plans Association and its wholly-controlled subsidiaries (in this Privacy Statement, “we” or “us”) are committed to protecting the privacy of all individuals who utilize the www.deltadental.com website and the Delta Dental mobile application (the “Mobile App,” together with the deltadental.com web site, the “Our Services”). Please read the following statement to understand how we collect, use and safeguard the information you, as an individual consumer (as opposed to a provider, employer or others) may provide to us via Our Services. This statement may be revised from time to time, so please revisit this page often to remain fully informed of our policies.

By using Our Services, you acknowledge that you have read and understand the practices contained herein. By using any of Our Services, whether by visiting deltadental.com, downloading or using the Mobile App, and/or voluntarily providing your personally identifiable information to us, you acknowledge that we collect and use your information as set forth in this Privacy Statement.

 

APPLICABILITY OF THIS PRIVACY STATEMENT

This Privacy Statement is subject to our Terms of Use. This Privacy Statement applies only to information submitted and/or collected online through Our Services and does not apply to information that we may collect offline or other than through Our Services (including through any Delta Dental social media websites or channels). In addition, this Privacy Statement is applicable regardless of the device used to access Our Services (e.g., personal computer, mobile device, consumer electronics device, or any other technology or software known today or developed in the future).

However, certain terms of this Privacy Statement apply only to individuals who seek or have sought or obtained coverage underwritten or administered by Delta Dental Companies (such individuals are herein referred to as “Members”) and/or who register for the Our Services. “Delta Dental Company” means an independent company that is member of Delta Dental Plans Association. A complete list of the Delta Dental Companies is included at the end of this Privacy Statement.

This Privacy Statement does not apply to information about you collected by any third parties, including any of the Delta Dental Companies, Delta Dental Store, or by any other third party services, applications, or websites or advertisements associated with, linked to or otherwise accessible from the Our Services. The information collected or received by such third parties, including the Delta Dental Companies and Delta Dental Store, is subject to their own privacy policies, statements, and practices and under no circumstances are we responsible or liable for any third party’s compliance therewith. Please refer to the privacy statements or policies for such third-party services for information about how they collect, use, and process personal information. This Privacy Statement also does not apply to information collected on sites linking to a different privacy notice.

 

WHAT INFORMATION DO WE COLLECT FROM YOU?

We collect a variety of personal information from and about you through the Our Services, including both directly from you and automatically as a result of your use of and access to the Our Services.

You have choices about the information we collect. When you are asked to provide information, you may decline; but if you choose not to provide information that is necessary to provide a service or feature, you may not be able to use that service or feature. For example, registering for an account is optional and requires you to provide additional information, including insurance information, your email address, your mobile phone number, and your name; similarly, if you request information about your coverage or claims through Our Services (which request will go to the Delta Dental Company that administers or underwrites your dental benefits coverage) you will need to provide certain information as part of the request. In addition, as noted below in the section captioned “Cookies and Web Tracking,” it is possible to change your browser setup to block the automatic collection of certain information.

Information Collected Automatically – We use commonly-used automated information gathering tools on Our Services. When you browse deltadental.com and/or download and use the Mobile App, we collect information about your computer or mobile device and the network you use to access Our Services, as well as information about your use of Our Services. This includes software and hardware attributes of the device, unique device ID information, regional and language settings, performance data about Our Services, network provider, and IP address (a number assigned to your computer when you use the Internet). In addition, information may also be collected passively in the form of log files that record website activity. For example, log file entries are generated every time a user visits a particular page or clicks an image on our website, and collects information on how many "hits" a particular web page is getting (a.k.a. "click-through data"), the dates and times that you use Our Services, the pages you visit, the amount of time spent on specific pages, and other similar usage information, and general data (including the name of the web page from which you entered deltadental.com). See also the section below captioned “Cookies and Web Tracking. 

Account Registration –If you choose to become a registered user of Our Services, we request that you provide us your first name, last name, Member ID, social security number, date of birth, ZIP code, and email address.

Find A Dentist – As a convenience, Our Services permit you to search for participating dentists and oral health professionals (“Providers”) in your geographic area. When you choose to search for Providers, you may be asked to provide basic information regarding your dental insurance and either access to your device’s location information, your physical address, or your ZIP code in order to provide you with information regarding nearby Providers.

Dental Care Cost Estimator –Our Services permit you to receive cost estimates for certain common categories of dental treatment. To take advantage of this tool, you are asked to enter your ZIP code and the type of treatment sought. Use of this tool is also subject to a separate Terms of Use, and you should review that document prior to using this tool.

Contact Us – Our Services also permit you to contact a Delta Dental Company via email. Please note that the email functionality provided by Our Services is not a completely secure and confidential means of communication. It is possible that your email communication may be accessed or viewed by another internet user while in transit to us. If you wish to keep your communication private, do not use the email functionality. In such case, please contact the applicable Delta Dental Company by phone. Should you contact us via email (support@deltadental.com), your email address and any other information you provide in such email will be collected and retained in accordance with this Privacy Statement. Such emails may not be secure and you may not want to include any personal information in such emails.

Mobile App – Individuals who download or use the Mobile App should note that the Mobile App permits the collection, communication, and storage of information in ways not typically available through web-based applications, as described below.

• Location Services – If you permit the Mobile App to use location services (including global positioning system or “GPS”), depending on the settings on your mobile device, we may collect the precise or general location information provided by your device. If you want to deactivate this feature, you can deactivate location services and GPS functionality on your mobile device or remove the permission for the Mobile App to access location services. Please refer to your device manufacturer or operating system instructions for instructions on how to do this.

• Additional Requests for Information and Access – When you download and/or use the Mobile App, we will ask for permission to access and/or to provide to you additional information or functionality, including the right to provide certain contact information directly to your Contacts folder, to provide “push” notifications, and to obtain access to photos if you wish to use photos to identify enrollees on your account.

• Local Storage – The Mobile App may store certain information locally on your device depending on how you use it. If you use the “Remember Me” feature to assist you with logging into your account, your username will be stored locally. Users also have the option to save their member ID card to the Mobile App for easy access; this ID card contains your name, group name, plan name, and sometimes your Member ID number. If you choose to enable the “Biometric Sign In” feature in the Mobile App, your face or fingerprint will be stored locally. This information is not accessible to us. You are responsible for securing your devices and any information, including personal information and/or individually identifiable health information (if any), stored on or accessible from the device, as well as any backup copies of such information that may be created by you or your device’s settings or applications. Locally-stored information is typically deleted if you uninstall the Mobile App or clear the Mobile App’s application data through your device’s settings, although it may be stored in device backups even after uninstallation or deletion of the Mobile App or its application data.

Cookies; Web and Web Usage Tracking - In order to personalize and enhance your experience on Our Services, we may also automatically collect information through “cookies.” Cookies are small strings of text that are sent by Our Services to your browser and then stored by your browser on your computer’s hard drive or other device. We may also use cookies to help diagnose problems with our servers, to administer Our Services, to gather information about the how Our Services are used (including information gathered anonymously from users’ clicks, taps, mouse movements, keystrokes and scrolling behavior), and to gather broad demographic information. For additional information on the types of cookies we may use, see the section below captioned “How Is Your Information Used? – Sharing Information – Analytics” as well as our cookie preference center at the bottom of this page under the Company info section. Where a code in the cookie file enables Our Services to label you as a particular user, including identifying you by name or other personal information, such cookie files are encrypted in order to protect your information. Most web browsers automatically accept cookies, but it is possible to change your browser setup so that it does not accept cookies. You may also visit our cookie preference center at the bottom of this page under the Company info section to customize your preferences for Our Services at any time. However, rejecting certain cookies may prevent you from taking advantage of certain portions, functionality or features of Our Services.

Do Not Track - We do not engage in the collection of personal information about your online activities over time and across third party websites or online services. Accordingly, we do not currently process or comply with any web browser’s “do not track” (DNT) signal or other mechanisms that provide consumers with the ability to exercise choice regarding the collection of personal information about your online activities over time and across third party websites.

Finally, we may collect data that is not considered “personal information.” To the extent such data is stored or associated with personal information, it will be treated as personal information; otherwise, such data may be used or distributed at our discretion.

 

HOW IS YOUR INFORMATION USED?

Our Use of Information. We collect, retain, and use personal information as required or permitted by law; for legitimate business purposes; to perform functions or activities on behalf of, or provide services to, the Delta Dental Companies and affiliates; with your consent, as required by applicable law; and/or as necessary to complete any transaction or provide you with information or services you have requested or authorized. These uses include, without limitation: to provide you with information regarding us, the Delta Dental Companies and affiliates and/or our/their products and services; to provide you information regarding dental health Providers in your geographic area; to provide the functionality of or obtainable through Our Services; to respond to an inquiry from you or address a request submitted by you (including contacting you directly to request additional information to process your inquiry or request); to obtain your feedback on your dental appointment experience; to allow you to manage your benefits, including obtaining information regarding your benefits and/or claims submitted; to provide certain contact information directly to your Contacts folder; to provide “push” notifications; to access photos so that you may identify enrollees on your account; for our proper management and administration or to fulfill our legal responsibilities; to perform data aggregation services in order to provide analysis relevant to the health care operations of the Delta Dental Companies; to create de-identified data; to operate and improve our services (including benefits offerings and services provided by the Delta Dental Companies); to operate or improve services we provide including Our Services; to monitor visitor traffic patterns and usage of Our Services in order to assess overall services activity, track interest in particular portions of Our Services, and troubleshoot technical concerns; to gather and analyze data for our internal studies so we can constantly improve our services; to comply with applicable laws, regulations and rules, and requests of relevant law enforcement and/or other governmental agencies; to enforce our Terms of Use; and/or to protect the rights, property, or safety of us, our users, Delta Dental Companies and others 

Note that our use, sharing, and processing of individually identifiable health information is described below in the “Individually Identifiable Health Information” section.

Text and Unencry pted Email Messages. With your consent, we, our subsidiaries and the Delta Dental Companies may send text and/or unencrypted email messages containing notifications, reminders, tips and links to surveys and information related to your dental insurance for treatment, payment and healthcare operations purposes from the Delta Dental Company that provides or administers your dental benefits and coverage and its authorized service providers (including Delta Dental), at the phone number and/or email address you have provided. Messages sent by text and/or unencrypted email may include individually identifiable health information. Because these messages are not encrypted, there is some risk that the messages could be read by someone other than you. You are not required to provide this consent. The Delta Dental Company that provides or administers your dental benefits and coverage will not condition your eligibility for benefits, treatment, enrollment or payment of claims on whether you provide this consent. To stop receiving text messages, text “STOP” and for help, text “HELP”. Message and data rates may apply.

Sharing Information. We do not sell or rent your personal information to third parties for their marketing use. However, some of the above uses involve sharing collected personal information with third parties, including service providers, business associates, affiliates, and the Delta Dental Companies. We share personal information; as required or permitted by law; for legitimate business purposes; with your consent, where required by law; as necessary to complete any transaction or provide you with information or services you have requested or authorized; to obtain your feedback on your dental appointment experience; to perform functions or activities on behalf of, or provide services to, the Delta Dental Companies; for our proper management and administration or to fulfill our legal responsibilities; to perform data aggregation services in order to provide analysis relevant to the health care operations of the Delta Dental Companies; and/or to create de-identified data; in each case as provided in this Privacy Statement.

Examples include:

• mPulse Mobile CAHPS Survey - You may be offered an opportunity (either by email or SMS message) to participate in a short survey about your experiences with a recent dental appointment. The survey, known as the Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (“CAHPS”) survey, asks each participant a set of standard questions about their experiences with a dental appointment. The CAHPS Survey is delivered and administered on behalf of the Delta Dental Company that underwrites or administers your dental coverage and benefits by mPulse Mobile. Your information will be used for the health care operations purposes of the Delta Dental Company that underwrites or administers your dental coverage and benefits, including to evaluate and improve plan and provider performance and to create de- identified data. Aggregated, de-identified CAHPS Survey answers will be shared with dentists. Use of the mPulse Mobile CAHPS Survey is governed by the mPulse Mobile’s Terms of Use. 

• Google Maps - We make use of Google Maps services for geolocation, map, autocomplete and driving direction functions. When you access this functionality from Our Services, you do so through Google Maps services where certain information is collected directly by Google. Use of the Google Maps functionality is governed by Google’s own Privacy Policy located at https://www.google.com/policies/privacy/.

• Analytics – We use and share information with third party analytics service providers, such as Google Analytics, in order to provide us and/or third parties who work for us or the Delta Dental Companies with information about the use of Our Services and third party websites or applications, and to better understand how Our Services are used. Such information will not include your name, address, Member ID, or similar information.

• Statistics –With your consent, Our Services may use Mouseflow, a third-party tool that uses cookies and other technologies to track page content and click/touch, movement, scroll, and keystroke activity. This enables us to know how visitors move around the site and what pages are visited the most. You can visit our cookie preference center at the bottom of this page under the Company info section to give or revoke consent to statistics cookies and technologies. You may also opt-out at Mouseflow at http://mouseflow.com/opt-out”

Also, we may share in aggregate, statistical form, non-personal information regarding the visitors to Our Services, traffic patterns, and Our Services usage with our partners, the Delta Dental Companies, affiliates or advertisers. We may also share, on an identifiable basis, that you have used, and information regarding your usage of, certain features of Our Services with the appropriate Delta Dental Company. In addition, we will disclose information we maintain, including personal information: (i) when permitted or required to do so by law, or may disclose such information in response to a request from a law enforcement agency or authority or any regulatory authority; (ii) to protect the integrity of Our Services or the interests, rights, property, or safety of Delta Dental and its affiliates, our users, the Delta Dental Companies and others; or (iii) to enforce our Terms of Use).

 

RETENTION OF COLLECTED INFORMATION

We retain personal information collected through Our Services for a reasonable period of time consistent with the purpose for the collection (e.g., to provide the services you request), or for other essential purposes including compliance with applicable laws, dispute resolution, and business operations. These retention periods can vary significantly depending on the type of information collected and the context.

 

COMMUNICATIONS OPT OUT

You may opt out of receiving materials or other communications from us by following the opt-out link or other unsubscribe instructions provided in any email or text message received, or by contacting us as provided at the end of this Privacy Statement. You may also be able to customize the communications you receive from us through preferences in your user account if you have registered for such an account, such as by activating or deactivating push notifications through your mobile device’s settings. If you do business with us, you may not opt out of automated notifications based on business transactions (e.g., e-commerce).

 

CHILDREN

In compliance with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, 15 U.S.C. §§ 6501-06 and 16 C.F.R. §§ 312.1-312.12, we do not permit children under 13 years of age to become registered users of Our Services, and we do not knowingly collect information from children. By using Our Services, you represent that you are 13 years of age or older.

 

PROTECTING YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION

Because security is important to both us and you, we employ reasonable safeguards designed to promote the security of our systems and protect your personal information from unauthorized destruction, use, modification, or disclosure. Personal information is protected using various physical, administrative and/or technical safeguards in transit and at rest.

However, it is important to note that no method of safeguarding information is 100% secure. While we try to ensure the protection of your personal information, we cannot guarantee that our safeguards will be effective or sufficient. In addition, you should be aware that Internet data transmission is not always secure and we cannot warrant that information you transmit utilizing Our Services is secure. The email functionality provided by Our Services is not a completely secure and confidential means of communication. It is possible that your email communication may be accessed or viewed by another internet user while in transit to us. If you wish to keep your communication private, do not use such email functionality. In such case, please contact the applicable Delta Dental Company by phone.

 

BUSINESS TRANSFER

Delta Dental may, in the future, sell or otherwise transfer some or all of its assets to a third party. Your personal information we obtain from you via Our Services may be disclosed to any potential or actual third party purchasers of such assets and/or may be among those assets transferred.

 

INDIVIDUALLY IDENTIFIABLE HEALTH INFORMATION

Many of the services offered on Our Services, e.g., account registration, Find a Dentist, our Dental Care Cost Estimator, our Mobile App, and Member-facing domains on our websites regard your individually identifiable health information. We consider your individually identifiable health information to be private and confidential. We collect, use, and disclose your individually identifiable health information consistent with the terms of applicable HIPAA business associate agreements with the Delta Dental Companies.

Applicable HIPAA business associate agreements generally permit us to use and disclose your individually identifiable health information (1) to perform functions or activities on behalf of, or provide services to, the Delta Dental Companies, in connection with their role in underwriting dental benefit coverage and administering dental benefit programs and claims, or as otherwise permitted or required by law including HIPAA; (2) for our proper management and administration or to fulfill our legal responsibilities; (3) to perform data aggregation services in order to provide analysis relevant to the health care operations of the Delta Dental Companies; or (4) to create de-identified data. Where your dental coverage benefits are underwritten or administered by a Delta Dental Company, we collect, use, and disclose your individually identifiable health information consistent with the HIPAA Notice of Privacy Practices pertaining to your dental plan. Your Delta Dental Company, and its HIPAA Notice of Privacy Practices, can be found by using the “Find your Delta Dental” tool at the end of this Privacy Statement.

 

YOUR RIGHTS AND CHOICES

Depending on where you live, you may have the below rights with respect to your personal data.

Please note, this section does not apply to your individually identifiable health information, including when you register for an account and use such registered account, use Find a Dentist, use our Dental Care Cost Estimator, and use our Mobile App as a registered user.   Delta Dental collects, uses, and discloses your health information consistent with the terms of applicable HIPAA business associate agreements with the Delta Dental Companies. For additional information regarding how your individually identifiable health information is collected, used, and disclosed, and your rights regarding this information, please see the HIPAA Notice of Privacy Practices pertaining to your Delta Dental Company dental plan. Your Delta Dental Company, and its HIPAA Notice of Privacy Practices, can be found by using the “Find your Delta Dental” tool at the end of this Privacy Statement.

• Right to Know. You may have the right to confirm that we process your personal information and to request information we have collected about you.
• Right to Data Portability. You may have the right to receive copies of your personal information that we have collected in a commonly used and machine-readable format.
• Right to Delete. You may have the right to request that we delete your personal information.
• Right to Correct. You may have the right to request that we correct inaccurate personal information that we maintain about you.
• Right to Opt-Out. You may have the right to opt out of the sale of your personal information, targeted advertising, and profiling in furtherance of decisions that produce legal or similarly significant effects on you. Please, note, however, we do not use your personal information for these purposes.
• Sensitive Personal Information/Consumer Health Data. As discussed above, Delta Dental collects, uses, and discloses your individually identifiable health information consistent with the terms of applicable HIPAA business associate agreements with the Delta Dental Companies. If required by applicable law, we would obtain consent prior to collecting and processing such information, and you would be able to withdraw your consent by contacting us at the information below.

You or your authorized agent may exercise the Right to Know, Right to Delete, and Right to Correct, if you have these rights, here or by calling us at (630) 574-6001.

We will not discriminate against you, in any manner prohibited by applicable law, for exercising these rights.

In order to process your requests, we may need to obtain information to locate you in our records or authenticate and verify your identity, depending on the nature of the request. In most cases, we will collect some or all of the following data elements: Date of Birth and Member ID. In some cases, we may request different or additional information, including a signed declaration that you are who you say you are, and will inform you if we need such information.

Authorized agents may exercise rights on behalf of consumers. We may require the agent to demonstrate authority to act on behalf of you by providing signed permission from you. We may also require you to verify your own identity directly with us or to directly confirm with us that you provided the authorized agent permission to submit the request.

If you would like to appeal any action taken in response to your requests, please contact us at the information below.

 

THIRD PARTY WEBSITES

We are not responsible for the privacy practices employed by any websites linked to or from our Our Services, including websites maintained by an individual Delta Dental Company.  The information or content contained within them, and any personal information collected, used or disclosed by those websites, will be handled in accordance with the applicable website’s privacy notice, statement or policy. We may also give you the option to login to your account via third-party services through single sign on functionality. If you choose to leverage this option, we will receive information associated with your account (such as your name and profile information) from that third-party service. This information varies and is controlled by that service or as authorized by you via your privacy settings at that service. We recommend reviewing the service’s privacy policy beforehand and managing your privacy settings on an ongoing basis.

 

CALIFORNIA SHINE THE LIGHT LAW

California Civil Code Section 1798.83, known as the “Shine The Light” law, permits our users who are California residents to request and obtain from us a list of what personal information (if any) we disclosed to third parties for direct marketing purposes in the preceding calendar year and the names and addresses of those third parties. Requests may be made only once a year and are free of charge. Under Section 1798.83, we currently do not share any personal information with third parties for their direct marketing purposes.

 

EFFECTIVENESS AND CHANGES TO OUR PRIVACY STATEMENT

This Privacy Statement is effective as of October 19, 2024. We reserve the right, at any time, to modify, alter, or update this statement, and any such modifications, alterations, or updates will be effective upon posting. We encourage you to periodically review this Privacy Statement. In the event we modify this Privacy Statement, we will post a notice to our website that it has been updated, and your continued use of Our Services will signify your acceptance of the modified Privacy Statement.

 

QUESTIONS?

Questions regarding this Privacy Statement should be directed to:

Delta Dental Plans Association Attention: Chief Privacy Officer