Privacy Policy
At Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (“Volkswagen”) your privacy is important to us. To better protect your privacy we provide this Privacy Policy, which explains our information practices, including practices across all of Volkswagen’s websites and digital properties as well as mobile versions of our site and mobile applications (each a “Volkswagen Property” and collectively, the “Volkswagen Properties”). Your use of any Volkswagen Property constitutes your agreement to the terms of this Privacy Policy.
The Information We Collect
We may collect certain information you choose to disclose to us, such as your name, postal address, telephone number, date of birth, email address, and survey data. We may also collect employment application information (such as previous employment, salary, education, and gender, ethnicity and veteran status (as permitted by law), SSN, Driver’s license, financial information, and other information needed for background screening). We may also collect user generated content you choose to publish on the Volkswagen Properties.
You may be able to use your Facebook, Google, or Twitter account credentials to sign in to certain Volkswagen Properties. If you connect using your Facebook credentials, you authorize us to collect your authentication information, such as your username, access credentials, and other information that may be available on or through your Facebook account, including your name, country, email address, and date of birth.
The Volkswagen Properties also may passively collect information that is automatically sent to us by your web browser or device, including your Internet Service Provider and IP address, the date and time you access the Volkswagen Property, the pages you have accessed while visiting the Volkswagen Property, and the Internet address from which you accessed the Volkswagen Property.
We may also receive information from third party sources, such as authorized Volkswagen dealerships, and incorporate it with other information about you.
If you access the Volkswagen Properties on your mobile device, we may collect the location of that device with your consent.
If you do not want to provide this information to us, you can turn off location services in your mobile device settings.
How We Use and Share Information
We may use your information in a number of ways, such as to send promotional emails to you, to enter you into contests and sweepstakes, to participate in our online communities, to conduct surveys and market research, to provide product materials and updates on new products and services, to respond to queries, and to provide order status and order tracking information to you. We may use information that you provide when applying for a job or an internship (including via our Careers page) to provide you with information about employment opportunities, administer the application process and consider you for employment for a job or an internship. We may use your information for marketing research and marketing purposes, which may include sharing it with Volkswagen authorized dealerships, for customer service purposes or to follow up on surveys, with outside research companies, or with service providers that provide marketing, research, or other services for us, including service providers that may be located inside or outside of the United States.
We may share your information within the Volkswagen family of companies, which includes parents, corporate affiliates, subsidiaries, business units and other companies that share common ownership, including Volkswagen AG. We may also share such information with agencies and service providers that work with Volkswagen or with Volkswagen authorized dealerships for purposes contemplated in this Privacy Policy or for other business purposes including analytics, website optimization, and measurement. We may share your information to comply with law or legal requirements, enforce or apply our Terms of Use and other agreements, or protect our rights, property, or the safety of our users or others. We do not share information that identifies you specifically with unaffiliated third parties for their marketing purposes, unless you consent to such sharing; however, aggregate information may be shared with agencies and service providers for use in their own products and services.
If we or some or all of our assets are acquired by another company, including through a sale in connection with bankruptcy, that company will possess the information collected by us, and it will assume the rights and obligations regarding your information as described in this Privacy Policy.
Cookies and Other Tracking Technologies
The Volkswagen Properties may also collect information, via cookies, web beacons, pixels, tags or other tracking technologies, such as your Internet Service Provider and IP address, the date and time you access the Properties, the pages you have accessed while visiting the Properties, and the Internet address from which you accessed the Properties. Some cookies exist only during a single session and some are persistent over multiple sessions over time. We use these technologies to remember user preferences, maximize the performance of our website and services, provide you with offers that may be of interest to you, measure the effectiveness of our email campaigns and to personalize online content.
Some browsers have incorporated Do Not Track (“DNT”) preferences. Most of these features, when turned on, send signals to the website you are visiting that you do not wish to have information about your online searching and browsing activities collected and used. As there is not yet a common agreement about how to interpret DNT signals, we do not honor DNT signals from website browsers at this time. However, you may refuse or delete cookies. If you refuse or delete cookies, some of our website functionality may be impaired. Please refer to your browser’s Help instructions to learn more about how to manage cookies and the use of other tracking technologies.
Third-Party Collection and Online Advertising
Our advertising agencies and service providers may collect information to customize the design of the Volkswagen Properties and for other business purposes, including advertising, analytics, website optimization, and measurement. These companies may use cookies (a small text file), pixels, tags, or similar technologies that are placed in browsers to gather information about your visits to a Volkswagen Property, as well as your visits elsewhere on the Internet.
Some of these companies may use this information to provide you with more relevant advertising, a practice known as interest-based advertising. Some of these companies may be participants in the Digital Advertising Alliance (“DAA”). The DAA offers a choice mechanism with respect to certain types of data collection and use. We adhere to the DAA’s Self-Regulatory Principles for Online Behavioral Advertising. Visit www.aboutads.info to exercise choice with respect to those companies that participate in the DAA Choice Page. If you change computers, devices, or browsers, use multiple computers, devices, or browsers, or delete your cookies, you may need to repeat this process for each computer, device, or browser.
To opt out of receiving promotional email messages from us, please click on the “Unsubscribe” link contained at the bottom of each email.
Security
Volkswagen will take reasonable precautions to protect your information from loss, misuse or alteration. Please be aware, however, that any email or other transmission you send through the Internet cannot be completely protected against unauthorized interception.
Our Commitment to Children's Privacy
Volkswagen does not knowingly collect personal information from visitors under the age of 13. The Volkswagen Properties are general audience websites or digital properties directed at general audiences. In the event that we learn that we have collected personal information from a child under age 13 without verification of parental consent, we will delete that information.
External Links
The Volkswagen Properties may contain links to other websites, including social networks, advertisers, individual dealer’s websites, and websites belonging to other third parties. Some of these sites may share a similar “look and feel” to the Volkswagen Properties. Such sites may include social media sites, including Facebook and Twitter, and other third-party sites including individual dealer websites. Please be aware that we are not responsible for the privacy practices of other websites. We encourage you to read the privacy policies provided by other websites before you provide information to them.
Changes to this Privacy Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy. We will notify you of any material changes to our Privacy Policy by updating this page. We encourage you periodically to check this site to learn about the information we collect, use, and share. Your continued use of any of the Volkswagen Properties or providing data after the posting of an updated Privacy Policy affirms your agreement to such changes.
Your California Privacy Rights
As described in this Privacy Policy, from time to time we may make your personal information available to third parties. If you do not want us to share your personal information with third parties, you may opt-out of this information sharing by emailing us at VWCustomerCARE@vw.com or by contacting us via the contact information provided below.
Contact Us
Should you have other questions or concerns about this privacy policy, please email us at: VWCustomerCARE@vw.com.
You may also contact us by phone, 24 hours a day, at: 1-800-822-8987.
And by mail at:
Volkswagen Customer CARE Center
3800 Hamlin Road
Auburn Hills, MI 48326