Alcon Laboratories, Inc., and its affiliates (collectively "Alcon"), is committed to maintaining the privacy and accuracy of your personal information and to protecting such information from loss, misuse, unauthorized access, alteration and destruction. This Privacy Policy applies to all Alcon Web sites (the "Web sites"). To the extent local laws provide for additional protections beyond those provided by this Policy, Alcon will endeavor to comply with such laws at all times. The Alcon Web sites principally are designed for the benefit of its customers, and seek to furnish information that may be of interest or use to them.

Please read this Privacy Policy carefully to understand how your personal information will be treated as you make full use of our Web sites. This Privacy Policy may change from time to time, so please check back periodically. Feel free to contact us with any questions or comments regarding our privacy practices.

The following Privacy Policy will inform you of:

Control Over the Collection and Use of Personal Information

Alcon wants to give you as much control as possible over information that personally identifies you ("Personal Information"). In general, you can visit our site without telling us who you are or revealing any of your Personal Information. There are times, however, when we may need this information from you. This includes when you (1) create a user identity/account online, (2) purchase products or request information to be sent to you, (3) request details about participating doctors, (4) contact us about our products or services, or (5) utilize services on Alcon Web sites.

You may always opt-out, or choose not to submit your Personal Information, but this may limit your access to certain services and/or areas within various Alcon Web sites. For those who do submit Personal Information, the data is available for review, revision or removal at any time. This can be accomplished by contacting us at or at the following address:

Alcon Laboratories, Inc.
Attn: Web Site Services
6201 South Freeway
Fort Worth, TX 76134

Personal and Non-Personal Data

Personal Information is data that can identify you as a unique user such as name, address, telephone number or e-mail address. We collect Personal Information only where we have first requested it from you and/or you have voluntarily submitted it to us via any of our Web sites. We may use the information to respond to your requests, improve our level of service and the content of our Web sites, or for monitoring usage of our Web sites.

We also automatically gather certain Non-Personal Information about the usage of our site such as the total number of visits to our Web sites, the number of visitors to each page of our Web sites, and the domain names of our visitors' Internet service providers. We use this information, which remains in aggregate form, to understand how our visitors use our Web sites so that we may improve the online experience and better facilitate your visit to our Web sites. We do not connect this non-personal data to any Personal Information we collect from you.

How Alcon Uses Collected Information

We will use collected Personal Information to reply to your requests and inquiries, to process account applications, to service accounts, and to assist with questions about membership, billing, or use of our products or online services. Collected data will generally be kept at our headquarters in Fort Worth, Texas, U.S.A. It may in the course of internal use be shared with the offices of our wholly-owned Alcon affiliate in your country of residence, as applicable.

We may collect Personal Information from you, such as contact information, demographic information (i.e. your zip code) or information regarding your opinion of a product or service, via online surveys or related research tools. This may be used by Alcon to better provide you with information and services that you requested or may find useful.

We also may use your Personal Information to provide you with updated information on Alcon products and services, to alert you to special product and service offerings, or to engage in other targeted marketing activities.

You may elect not to have your Personal Information used for any of these purposes ("opt-out") by notifying us at the address listed above or by contacting us via the Web site. Where applicable, you also may opt out by checking the box that indicates, "Check here if you do not want Personal Information disclosed or used." In certain cases where appropriate or required by local law, we first may ask for your consent ("opt-in") before communicating with you.

Collection and Use of Non-Personal Information

Our Web services automatically gather certain non-personal information about the usage of our sites. We collect this Non-Personal Information only on an aggregate basis and we may analyze such data for trends and statistics in the aggregate and without any link to personally identifiable data.

The following collective data, which is used for internal purposes, may help us improve your online experience:

Cookies

To enable us to provide customized and personalized services, we may use cookies to store and sometimes track information about you. A cookie is a small amount of data that is sent to your browser from a Web server and stored on your computer. Cookies, by themselves, do not tell us any personally identifiable information about you. However, if you choose to furnish the site with personally identifiable information (i.e. your e-mail address), that information could be linked to the data stored in the cookie.

You have the ability to accept or decline cookies by modifying your browser settings. Please refer to your Internet browser's instructions or help screen to learn more about these functions. If you choose to decline cookies, you may not be able to fully experience the features of this Site or other Web sites that you may visit.

IP Address Tracking

Depending on your Internet connection, you may have a static or dynamic IP address that is assigned to your computer by your Internet service provider. This Internet Protocol (IP) address identifies you through a set of numbers that may (dynamic) or may not (static) change each time you log on. Alcon may collect IP addresses for the purposes of systems administration and site audits for usability. We do not ordinarily link a user's IP address to personally identifiable information of that user, meaning that each user's session will be logged, but the user remains anonymous. However, we may use IP addresses to identify users of our site when we feel it is necessary to enforce compliance with the site's terms of use, or to protect our service, site or other users.

Visitation and Login Tracking

We may track the total number of visitors to our Web sites, the number of visitors to each page of our Web sites, and the number of visitors that logs in to visit certain areas or utilize certain functionality of our Web sites. Such information is not linked to any personally identifiable information that can identify any individual person. We may share this information in aggregate form with corporate partners and/or third party vendors for analysis of the current uses of the Alcon Web sites and to assist in future Web site development and operating of our Web sites.

Security of Data Collected

Alcon takes very seriously its responsibility to keep your Personal Information, including your personal financial and health-related information, private. With all such data being stored at our corporate headquarters in Fort Worth, Texas U.S.A., we take all reasonable steps to protect your Personal Information through the use of technologies and processes such as access control procedures, network firewalls and physical security. These technologies and methods increase the security and privacy of information traveling to, from and within our Web sites.

We also safeguard Personal Information from unauthorized access. Only authorized Alcon employees or agents carrying out permitted business functions are permitted to access Personal Information. Employees who violate Alcon's privacy access policies are subject to disciplinary actions, including termination when appropriate. Alcon has implemented Secure Socket Layer (SSL) technology to protect the transmission of your personal information via the Internet. This technology encrypts the information prior to transmission over the Internet between your computer and our servers. While Alcon has implemented SSL technology for some purposes, we cannot guarantee the privacy of all transmissions to and from our Web sites.

Sharing Collected Data

Generally, collected data will be stored at our headquarters in Fort Worth, Texas U.S.A. and it may be shared with offices of our wholly-owned Alcon affiliates in your country or other countries as applicable. This includes Personal and Non-Personal Information as defined above.

We may share Personal Information and/or Non-Personal Information in aggregate or partial form with Alcon's wholly-owned affiliates, corporate partners and/or third party agents for analysis of the current uses of the Alcon Web sites, to assist in future Web site development and operating of our Web sites, and to furnish information to you about Alcon products and services.

We also may disclose Personal Information when required to do so by law or when such action is necessary or appropriate (a) to conform to the edicts of the law or comply with legal process served on Alcon, (b) to protect and defend the rights or property of Alcon, or (c) to protect the personal safety of users of our Web sites. We reserve the right to contact the appropriate authority at our discretion when it appears that activities that are illegal or violate Alcon's terms of service are taking place within the context of a member account.

Alcon is a global company and your Personal Information may be transferred across international borders. It may be transferred to countries that have different levels of data protection laws to the country from where you submitted your Personal Information. We make all reasonable efforts to maintain security of such Personal Information both during transit and at the final destination.

Fraudulent Email and Alcon's Concern for Your Protection

There have been cases of emails sent to individuals or organizations falsely purporting to be from Alcon or a brand of Alcon. These are scam emails, and will sometimes ask you for information such as a password or user ID and even sums of money in return for more money or other benefits, such as winning an Alcon competition or promotion in return.

These emails sometimes look quite convincing, with an Alcon or Alcon brand logo, or coming from an email address that looks as if it could be from Alcon.

In any case, these emails are false and are not at all associated with Alcon itself or any partner organizations; therefore we strongly suggest that you make sure of the authenticity of such mails (or any other communication) before sending any reply. Be suspicious of any email that asks for personal information or requests your authentication. Alcon further strongly suggests that you do not send money or any other information; it is simply not Alcon policy to ask for money or other information in return for winnings, prizes, job interviews or any sort of registration.

If you are worried about an email that you have received, please contact us to help us to become aware of those incidents and take action against these people. You may also inform or ask your internet service provider for advice or help.

The Privacy of Children

We currently do not knowingly collect or use Personal Information from children or minors, as those terms are defined or understood under the local laws where a Web site user resides, and we will not do so in the future without first obtaining verifiable consent from a parent or legal guardian. Should a user whom we know to be a child or minor as defined by local applicable laws send Personal Information to us, we will only use that information to respond directly to that child, seek parental consent or provide parental notice.

Practices of Third Party Web Sites

Alcon is not responsible for the data collection, use practices or content found on the third party sites of merchants and other companies to which Alcon's Web sites may link, nor are we responsible for the data collection and use practices of those Web sites that link to Alcon Web sites.

Links To and From Alcon Web Sites

Alcon provides links to various Web sites for your convenience. Alcon does not monitor content on Web sites to which is links for accuracy and shall have no responsibility or liability for the content contained on these sites. Alcon does not monitor content on Web sites linking to Alcon Web sites.

Alcon does not require requests for, nor provide consent for, links to its Web sites. Links to Alcon Web sites must be in accordance with Alcon's Linking Policy. In turn, Alcon does not request permission to link to Web sites except where expressly requested by the owner of those Web sites.

Alcon reserves the right to demand the removal of links to its Web sites at any time for any reason and also responds to requests to remove links from its Web sites. Such requests should be sent through the contact us form on the corporate Alcon.com Web site and must indicate the link, where the link was found, the reason for the request and the authority of the requestor to make the request. This authority must include direct ownership of the Web site in question.

If you have complaints about any link from any Alcon Web site, please contact us.

Consent and Agreement

By using the Alcon Web sites, you signify your agreement to the terms and conditions of this Privacy Policy. If you do not agree to these terms and conditions, please do not disclose any Personal Information to the Alcon Web sites. If you have any questions or comments about our use of Personal Information or about this Privacy Policy, please contact us via this Web site or at the address listed above. Alcon will use reasonable efforts to promptly investigate any complaint you may have regarding our use of Personal Information and to comply fully with the legal and regulatory supervisory authorities responsible for enforcing our adherence to the privacy principles stated above.

Changes to Policy

This Privacy Policy may be revised periodically. By using Alcon Web sites, you acknowledge our right to change this Policy, without prior notification. We recommend that you visit our Policy regularly so that you are aware of any changes made to this Policy.

Last Updated: April 4, 2007

back to top