Privacy Policy

Introduction

Southern Linc is committed to safeguarding your privacy in accordance with this Privacy Policy. This Privacy Policy explains the information Southern Linc or its agents ("we") collect about our customers and website visitors ("you"), how we use it, and what you can do about certain uses of information. By visiting our website, you consent to our collection and use of your information provided to us by you as set forth in this Privacy Policy. By purchasing products and services (including applications) (collectively, “Services”) from us, including through our online store, or by using our Services, you consent to our collection and use of your information as set forth in this Privacy Policy in connection with such purchase and use. It is your responsibility to ensure that all users of Services under your account understand and also agree to such collection and use.

Please review this Privacy Policy regularly for any changes. We may change this Privacy Policy at any time with notice to you via our website of any material changes. You will be able to see whether changes have been made by checking the date posted at the end of this policy. All changes to the Privacy Policy are effective when we post them. Your continued use of our website and Services after any posting of changes to this Privacy Policy means that you accept such changes. The words “include”, “exclude” and derivations thereof below are not to be construed as terms of limitation.

Information We Collect

CPNI

Customer Proprietary Network Information ("CPNI") is information that relates to the quantity, technical configuration, type, destination, location, and amount of use of the telecommunications Services you purchase from us, as well as the information contained in your bills for those Services. The way we collect, use, disclose, and protect your CPNI is described in our CPNI Guidelines.

Other Types of Information We Collect or Obtain

We collect several types of information when you communicate with us, visit our website, or purchase or use our Services. Some of that information may be "Personal Information," which is information that identifies, or reasonably could be used to identify, an individual website visitor and/or Southern Linc customer. In general, we may collect the following types of information:

• Customers and prospective customers who communicate with us and purchase or use our Services may be required to provide certain information (including Personal Information), which may include contact information, such as your name, address, telephone number, and e-mail address; financial information, such as payment information and credit or debit card information; Social Security Number; taxpayer identification number; driver's license number; the reason for contacting us; and other account-related and service history information. When you apply for Services, we may obtain credit information from outside credit reporting agencies.
• When you contact us or we contact you and to the extent permitted by federal or state law, we may record or monitor that communication or keep a record of the transaction for quality assurance and training.
• When you use our Services, visit our website, or use applications on your device, we, or our third-party service providers, may collect content you generate when using the Services, information about your account, your device and the interactions between your device and our network, the interactions between your web browser and our website (and between your web browser and other websites unrelated to our website), and the interactions between applications on your device and our network. Information collected may include, but is not limited to, CPNI, voice, text, and dispatch records, including content, data and usage history, your account number, location (see Location Information below), IP address, your search history, web pages you visit and how long you visit them, mobile applications downloaded or used and how long you use them, content transmitted over those applications, biometric information (such as fingerprint, voiceprint or scan of face geometry) network performance data, and information about your connection, including your time zone, language preferences, operating system, platform type, browser type and version, and connection speed. If you create an online account on our website, we may collect information about your user identification, password, access code, and secret questions and answers.
• You may also be required to provide information regarding usage, service history, and other equipment and performance-related information when visiting our website, using our Services, or obtaining service support.
• We may measure and monitor network performance and your device's performance to improve network performance.

How We Collect Information

We may collect information from you through one or more methods, including the following:

• As described above, we collect information when you purchase or use our Services, visit our website, or use applications on your device.
• You may be required to provide us with some or all of the types of information described above when you communicate with us, including through our website.
• Third-party agencies, such as credit bureaus or data brokers, may provide us with information, such as credit information or demographic and interest data, that we request so that we may make credit-related decisions to offer and/or provide Services to you.
• Our independent dealers and sales representatives may provide information to us so that we may provide our Services to you. (Note that applicable third party customer agreement(s) for Services may govern the receipt, use, and disclosure of some information).
• Third parties may provide us with your contact information and other marketing lead information, such as "refer a friend" options or social media platforms.

How We Use the Information

Depending upon the type of information collected, we may use the information in a variety of ways, including:

• To establish, monitor, and maintain your account and billing records, to determine payment and credit risk, and to provide account-related Services
• To provide you with the Services you have purchased or requested (including 911 and 988 emergency services)
• To provide customer support and to respond to your questions regarding our Services
• To determine your eligibility for new products and services
• To share information with you regarding service offerings and promotions
• To invite you to customer appreciation events
• To deliver customized content or advertising that may be of interest to you
• To support and improve network operations, security and network integrity, including network protection, troubleshooting, and management
• To maintain and improve the operation of our website, including maintaining its security and functionality, diagnosing problems, analyzing trends, providing more efficient service, and producing traffic volume statistics
• To authenticate you and protect the confidentiality and security of your account and related information
• To facilitate the prevention of fraud and other illegal activities relating to network usage and device security
• To cooperate with government investigatory efforts
• To prevent or respond to suspected or actual violations of our Customer Terms & Conditions, Website Terms & Conditions or Acceptable Use Policy; and
• For other legally permissible purposes, such as the protection of the security of our and our affiliates' critical infrastructure

Online Interest-Based Advertising

We use cookies on our website to display ads while you browse the web. Cookies are small data files placed on your computer by the websites you visit and can be used to help recognize you as a user of that website. Our website may ask your web browser to store a small text file on your computer, which will then be sent back to our website each time you click on a new page on our website. These cookies enable the presentation of our ads when you search on Google or visit other third-party vendors. Cookies also enable us to provide you with the best browsing experience possible. A cookie cannot be executed as code or deliver viruses.

We use cookies on our website to display ads while you browse the web. Cookies are small data files placed on your computer by the websites you visit and used to identify you as a user of that website. Our cookies stored on your computer are sent back to our website each time you click on a new page on our website. These cookies enable the presentation of our ads when you search on Google or visit other third-party vendors. Cookies also enable us to provide you with a better browsing experience. A cookie cannot be executed as code or deliver viruses. We may run interest-based advertising campaigns that collect Personal Information including, but not limited to, email addresses and telephone numbers. We do not share with Google or other third parties any Personal Information gathered via cookies or via your response to our ads. Visitors can opt-out of Google's interest-based advertisements by visiting Google Ad Settings. To opt-out of other third-party interest-based advertising programs, go to the National Advertising Initiative's Consumer Opt-Out. You can also refuse cookies or delete cookie files by changing your web browser privacy settings. Please note that you may not be able to use certain features of our website if your web browser does not accept cookies.

Location Information

Your device and our network will be able to determine your device location (such as your street address, zip code, and other location data). We may monitor, collect, and use this location (using cell sector, GPS coordinates, or other advanced positioning data), as well as other information generated by or on our network and your device, to provide you with Services, including emergency services such as 911, wireless emergency alerts or 988, voice, data, and dispatch services, to operate, maintain, and improve our network, and for other legally permissible purposes, or as required by law. Additionally, some devices feature services based on the general location of your device. With these additional services, such as enhanced mapping, your location may be shared with designated third parties as specified by the Master Account Holder primary person responsible for the account. If the Master Account Holder consents to these additional services you agree that we may collect, use, and disclose your location to provide the additional services selected and enabled. Many third-party applications, services and operating systems also use location information. You should carefully review any third-party privacy policies before choosing to share your location information with these third-party applications and services. See “Third Party Websites and Applications” below for more information.

Sharing Your Information

We share your information (including, in some cases, Personal Information) only with third parties (i) that perform services on our behalf, - including affiliates and third party service providers - and only for use in providing those services, (ii) those with respect to whom you have consented to share your information, and (iii) those with whom sharing such information is necessary to provide Services to you, including payment processors, debt collection and credit agencies, billing services, marketing providers, network and device security services, and other providers that assist in the purchase or provision of Services. Additionally, we may share information with third parties as part of a merger, acquisition, sale of company assets, or transition of service to another provider, or as required by law.

As mentioned above, the manner in which we collect, use, disclose, and protect your CPNI is specifically described in our CPNI Guidelines. Federal law governs our use and sharing of CPNI.

We may also share aggregate anonymous data relating to services transactions on our website, location, and overall use of the Services for marketing, research, and other legally permissible purposes. We do not sell or otherwise provide your Personal Information to third parties for reasons other than those stated in this Privacy Policy.

Children's Privacy

Our website is not directed to, nor designed to attract, children under the age of 13. Our offer of services is limited to adults (age 18 or as provided by law). Please refer to applicable customer agreements or terms of service for specific age requirements of each type of service. WE DO NOT TARGET CHILDREN FOR THE COLLECTION OF INFORMATION ONLINE AND DO NOT KNOWINGLY COLLECT PERSONAL INFORMATION FROM ANYONE UNDER AGE 13, UNLESS WE FIRST OBTAIN PERMISSION FROM THAT CHILD'S PARENT OR LEGAL GUARDIAN

IF YOU PURCHASE SERVICES FOR FAMILY USE AND ALLOW USE BY YOUR CHILDREN (OR BY OTHER CHILDREN), SUCH USE IS WITHOUT OUR KNOWLEDGE AND YOUR SOLE RESPONSIBILITY. ANY PERSONAL INFORMATION COLLECTED AS A RESULT OF SUCH USAGE WILL BE ASSOCIATED WITH THE ADULT ACCOUNT HOLDER AND WILL BE TREATED ACCORDINGLY UNDER THIS PRIVACY POLICY.

Safeguarding Your Information

We have established physical, electronic, technical, and administrative measures designed to protect your CPNI and Personal Information. We are committed to safeguarding and protecting your information; however, there is always a risk of cyber attacks and we cannot guarantee the protection of your information against every unauthorized attempt to access, use, or disclose your information. We maintain and protect the security of computer storage and network equipment, and we require user names and passwords or access codes for access to account data. We have implemented encryption or other appropriate security controls to protect Personal Information when stored or transmitted by us. It is also your responsibility to require any third parties who may have access to your Personal Information pursuant to this Privacy Policy to protect any Personal Information they may receive in a manner consistent with this Policy.

Passwords

We will never ask for your password or access code to access your account information in an unsolicited telephone call or e-mail. You should never lend, give, or otherwise disclose any of your passwords or access codes to any unauthorized person. When selecting usernames and passwords or access codes, you should choose words or characters that are not obvious.

Third Party Websites and Applications

You may use third-party applications pre-loaded on your device, download new third-party applications, make online purchases, or browse to third-party websites. THIS PRIVACY POLICY ONLY ADDRESSES THE USE AND DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION COLLECTED BY US, NOT BY ANY THIRD PARTY'S WEBSITE OR APPLICATIONS. SOUTHERN LINC IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR THE PRIVACY PRACTICES OR THE CONTENT, INFORMATION, APPLICATIONS, OR SERVICES OF THIRD PARTIES. When you access, use, download, or navigate to a service, application, or a third-party website for any reason, information collected and used is governed by that third party's privacy policy and terms of service and not our Privacy Policy. We encourage you to review the applicable privacy policy and terms of service of third parties before using their app or website or disclosing information to them.

Social Media Services

We work with certain third-party social media platforms to offer you their services through our website. For example, you can use third-party social media services, including, but not limited to, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, to share information about your experience on our website with your friends and followers. Those social media services may be able to collect information about you, including your activity on our website. These other services may also notify your friends, both on our website and on the social media platforms that you are a user of our website or about your use of our website, in accordance with applicable law and their own privacy practices.

Contacting Us and Limiting the Use of Your Information

We are happy to address any questions or concerns you may have regarding our Privacy Policy. You may select your communication preferences, such as opting in or out of receiving marketing communications, such as emails, phone calls, text messages, and postal mailings, at the Southern Linc Communication Preferences Center. You may also contact Customer Solutions by dialing 611 from your Southern Linc phone, by dialing 1-800-818-LINC (1-800-818-5462), or by emailing us at privacy@southernco.com.

Updating Your Information

You may review your Personal Information upon request by contacting Customer Solutions. If there are any inaccuracies in your information, you may correct them by contacting Customer Solutionsor calling 1-800-818-5462. Master Account Holders that have established their Online Account Manager may review and update information from the Online Account Manager tool.