CONSUMER INFORMATION
We’ve created this resource to provide consumers with valuable information about Epsilon’s marketing practices, consumer privacy and protecting consumer personal information. We strive to provide our consumers with transparency and choice.
CONSUMER RESOURCES
We offer several guides and tools here with information about our industry and practices to help bring transparency. In our guide to Epsilon direct marketing, you’ll find information on how Epsilon uses the data we collect, how to opt out of information sharing and other valuable topics. The Epsilon marketing FAQs provide additional information and act as supplements to our consumer guide.
Additionally, you can request access to Epsilon’s marketing data summary of the information we have in our databases about your household. We provide this service free of charge.
CONSUMER CHOICE
Consumers have the ability to opt out of receiving direct marketing that Epsilon enables. In our consumer preference center, you can find information on Epsilon’s privacy practices, including information on how to opt out of the various services we provide.
For more information, download:
GUIDE TO EPSILON DIRECT MARKETING
Protecting consumer privacy and promoting trust in marketing is important to Epsilon.
It’s our business to help companies reach consumers who are interested in their products or services. We’re committed to balancing the information needs of businesses with the privacy concerns of individuals. This guide helps explain our direct marketing practices and informs you about the choices you have concerning the use of your information for direct marketing purposes.
What’s Epsilon, and what direct marketing does Epsilon do?
Epsilon is a marketing company with offices around the world. We’ve been in business for 50 years. Many companies that sell products that you may use every day have been working with us to improve their marketing efforts. We help companies and nonprofit organizations build better relationships with their customers and find new customers for their products or services.
Companies may come to Epsilon to get more information about their current customers or to obtain information about potential customers who may be interested in their products or services. This information helps make the advertising more relevant and enables a company to send you offers more tailored to the things that interest you. Companies want to find the best fit for their products, and Epsilon helps them determine their optimal target market. This benefits you, as the offers you receive will be more tailored to things you might be interested in. This process also helps companies control costs, since they focus their efforts on sending materials to people interested in their products.
What types of consumer information does Epsilon have?
Epsilon’s databases have consumer information related to household purchases, demographics and interests, and self-reported information about consumers and their households. We obtain information from a number of sources, and we use quality-control procedures to help identify inaccurate or out-of-date information.
Our household purchase database contains consumer names and addresses, along with generalized household purchase information, to help understand the types of purchases people make. Our clients (mostly catalog and retail companies, but also nonprofit organizations, publishers and others) contribute information about their customers in exchange for information about prospective customers who may be interested in their products.
We filter household purchases into categories. This information helps Epsilon and our clients narrow your preferences and interests based on where your household shops, the categories of products and services bought, and the nonprofit organizations you support. For example, if you buy children’s clothing, your household will likely be in the category of children’s apparel and merchandise, and you may receive catalogs of children’s clothing in the mail.
How does Epsilon use information to model and create groups of consumers? What are niches?
We use the information described above to group consumers who have similar interests into niches. Niches are groups, or segments, of thousands of consumers who share similar buying patterns or interests. The information is then modeled with sophisticated mathematical algorithms, based on informed guesses about what the segment of consumers might be interested in buying next. Niches help companies save money and resources by only marketing to groups of people likely to be interested in their products.
What kinds of information are not part of these databases?
Epsilon does not have Social Security numbers, driver’s license numbers, bank account numbers or other financial accounts, credit card numbers or password information. We also don’t have health-related information, unless you voluntarily provided health-related information through the customer surveys mentioned earlier.
How can I opt out of Epsilon’s information sharing?
You can contact Epsilon directly and request not to receive marketing mailings that result from Epsilon data.
By opting out with us, you’re opting out of Epsilon’s marketing databases only, not databases belonging to other companies. Other companies similar to Epsilon provide consumer information to marketers for marketing purposes, and you should also opt out with them if you don’t want your information shared for marketing purposes.
It’s important to understand that when you opt out with Epsilon, we don’t delete your information. We mark it on our databases as “Do Not Share.” We do this because if your information is deleted, in the future, we would have no way to know that you requested that your information not be shared. When you’re marked as “Do Not Share,” we’ll know that you didn’t want your information shared in case your information is later resubmitted. We want to be sure that consumers’ requests are honored until we’re told of a change.
How can I see what information Epsilon has about me?
We’re happy to provide you with information that Epsilon has in our databases about your household. If you have questions about this information, you can contact our Privacy Department at (866) 267-3861.
For your protection, we’ll first need to verify your identity, as we want to make sure information is not shared with someone else. Similarly, we can’t provide unverified access to another household’s information. If you’re receiving mail for someone who doesn’t live at your address, please contact Epsilon and we’ll opt that person out of our databases. Or you can register them with the DMA Mail Preference Service discussed above.
A note for our valuable clients and their consumers:
Epsilon will never offer a download tool or a link to determine if your information has been compromised. All communication will be conducted with our clients through normal business channels. Epsilon will never ask you to validate who you are by requiring you to reveal personal information to access a webpage or download. At no point should you divulge your personal information, such as bank account information, license or ID numbers, Social Security numbers or credit card information to gain access to your personal information.
For more information about direct marketing, please download: Guide to Direct Marketing
Ask a question or contact us
For additional information about Epsilon’s privacy and information practices, please contact us.
Epsilon
Telephone: (866) 267-3861
Request form: Opt-out
Online: Epsilon Privacy Policy
How can I see what information Epsilon has?
If you have questions about the information Epsilon has about your household, you can complete the Epsilon marketing data summary request form. We’ll give you a summary of the information Epsilon has about your household in our marketing databases.
What does Epsilon do with marketing data?
Companies may come to Epsilon to get more information about their current customers or to obtain information about potential customers. This information helps make the advertising more relevant, based on an individual’s interests. Epsilon is able to help companies ensure that their marketing communications are sent to the most interested individuals. This process helps companies control costs, since they focus efforts on sending materials to people interested in their products. When companies are able to market directly to you, you benefit by potentially receiving special offers and promotions, free services and offers that marketers think are more relevant to you.
What does Epsilon not do with marketing data?
Epsilon doesn’t use marketing data for any purpose other than marketing. This means that we only help companies use data from our databases for the purpose of providing existing and potential customers with opportunities to buy products or services or to contribute to charitable causes. We never provide our data for individual consumer use. For example, if a consumer were to request information about a neighbor or coworker, we wouldn’t provide it. Epsilon doesn’t provide individual look-up products or services, and doesn’t allow clients to use Epsilon’s marketing data for activities such as granting credit, performing employment background checks or obtaining health insurance rates. Additionally, Epsilon doesn’t knowingly allow marketing to children under the age of 18.
What types of consumer information does Epsilon have?
Epsilon’s databases have consumer information related to household purchases, demographics and interests, and self-reported information about consumers and their households. Epsilon obtains information from a number of sources. To learn more about the types of consumer information, please refer to the guide to Epsilon direct marketing.
What kinds of information are not part of these databases?
Social Security numbers, driver’s license numbers, bank account numbers or other financial accounts, credit card numbers or password information. Epsilon also doesn’t have health-related information, unless you voluntarily provided health-related information through our customer surveys.
How do I opt out of information sharing?
If you decide that you aren’t interested in the benefits of direct marketing, you can opt out of Epsilon sharing your information with other companies. There are a number of ways to opt out, but no universal way to do so. For more information on opting out, visit Epsilon’s consumer preference center.
By opting out of information sharing, will I stop receiving all unwanted marketing offers?
By opting out of our databases, you should see a reduction in unwanted marketing offers you receive, but you won’t stop receiving all unwanted marketing offers. It may take several weeks or months for your opt-out to go into effect, depending on the planning cycle for the marketing offer. Advertisers begin their process several months in advance of actually sending a mail piece, so names and addresses that later opt out may already have been provided.
By opting out with Epsilon, you’re opting out of Epsilon’s marketing databases only, not databases belonging to other companies. There are other companies similar to Epsilon that provide consumer information to marketers for marketing purposes, and you should also opt out with them if you don’t want your information shared for marketing purposes. You can also ask the companies you do business with not to share your information.
The simplest way to opt out of information sharing and to reduce the amount of unwanted marketing offers in the U.S. is to register with the Direct Marketing Association’s (DMA’s) mail preference service. When you enter your name and address on the site, companies that are members of the DMA and non-member companies that use this service will remove consumers whose names and addresses are present.
How can I keep myself safe from fraud and identity theft?
Unfortunately, fraud and identity theft are common occurrences in today's marketplace. Criminals and thieves use multiple tactics to obtain personal information about an individual that can later be used to commit fraud or identity theft. The effects can be crushing and take years to remedy.
The FTC is committed to educating consumers on protecting themselves from identity theft and other related crimes. Visit their Identity Theft webpage to learn more. And for more information, please download: Fraud and Identity Theft
Who can I contact for more information?
There’s a variety of industry resources for consumers. For more information, please visit Epsilon’s consumer preference center below.
Epsilon strives to provide consumers with information about our consumer data privacy and marketing practices. The following information addresses how US residents can submit requests to access and manage the personal information Epsilon collects for consumers.
Protecting consumer privacy is a guiding principle for Epsilon. Building consumer trust in marketing programs Epsilon supports is key to upholding that principle. Simply, we help client companies reach consumers who are interested in buying their products and services. For detailed information about how Epsilon collects and uses personal information, please see our privacy policy.
The personal information Epsilon collects is used to help our clients gain a better understanding of consumers and their interests. For more information on the specific personal information Epsilon collects, please see our privacy policy.
Epsilon does not collect any government issued IDs, such as Social Security numbers, driver’s license numbers, bank account numbers, credit card numbers, or password information. We do not collect health-related information, unless a consumer voluntarily submits health-related information on a consumer survey.
Specific directions for how consumers can control the personal information Epsilon collects are provided below.
Access Personal Information Epsilon Collects and Sells
A report on specific elements of personal information Epsilon collects for a consumer, and may sell to clients, is available in the Consumer Access Report. The report is provided in response to a consumer’s verifiable access request. Request a Consumer Access Report by selecting the “Report on personal information collected for my name and address” option at Consumer Request Form.
Epsilon protects the privacy of each consumer making an access request. The identity of each consumer is verified before an access request can be honored.
If you prefer to submit your request via telephone, contact the Epsilon Consumer Preference Center at (866) 267-3861.
Opt-out of Sale – “Do Not Sell My Personal Information”
Epsilon honors consumer requests to opt-out of selling personal information. In response to an opt-out request, Epsilon no longer supplies a consumer’s personal information as a contact for clients’ marketing programs.
Submit an opt-out request at Consumer Request Form by selecting the “Do not sell my personal information/Opt-out” option.
If you prefer to submit your request via telephone, contact the Epsilon Consumer Preference Center at (866) 267-3861.
Deceased Persons: Please submit an Opt-out request to stop postal mailings to deceased persons.
Note: Other companies similar to Epsilon provide personal information for marketing purposes. Make opt-out requests with other companies to control how your personal information is controlled beyond Epsilon.
Request for Deletion of Personal Information
Epsilon removes personal information for a consumer, in response to receiving a verifiable deletion request. In result, Epsilon no longer retains or collects personal information for the consumer.
Submit a deletion request at Consumer Request Form by selecting the “Delete my personal information” option.
Epsilon protects the privacy of each consumer making a deletion request. The identity of each consumer is verified before a deletion request can be honored.
If you prefer to submit your request via telephone, contact the Epsilon Consumer Preference Center at (866) 267-3861.
Note: Other companies similar to Epsilon provide personal information for marketing purposes. Make deletion requests with other companies to control how your personal information is controlled beyond Epsilon.
If you have consumer privacy related questions that are not addressed here, please see our privacy policy.
MARKETING DATA SUMMARY REQUEST
At Epsilon, we believe it’s important to provide consumers with clear information about the data in our marketing databases.
You may request access to information about your household contained in Epsilon’s marketing databases by filling out and submitting the online request form. Once we’ve received your form, we’ll confirm your identity with a series of test questions, and then mail your marketing data summary to the address you provide on the form. The information you provide will be used solely to process your request and will be shared only with a third party who will provide the test questions we’ll use to verify your identity.