Privacy Policy and Terms of Use

Truth Initiative

The EX® Program

Last updated: 11/18/24

EX® Program is a digital program run by Truth Initiative Foundation doing business as Truth Initiative® (“Truth Initiative,” “we,” “us,” or “our”). EX® Program helps people in the U.S. to quit tobacco. Truth Initiative sells enterprise versions of EX® Program to sponsors (such as employers, health plans, governments, or public health organizations, each a “Sponsor”) to support our mission-driven work.

We respect your privacy. This online privacy policy (the “Privacy Policy”) is about how we collect, use, disclose, and secure the personal information we gather about you through our website, www.exprogram.com (the “Site”), our application, and when you interact with us as a customer or otherwise (collectively, the “Services”). If you have questions about this Privacy Policy, please contact us.

1. Information We Collect

1.1 Information you provide to us

As you use EX® Program, you may provide personal information to us, such as:

name
age or date of birth
gender
zip code
email address
mobile phone number (if you sign up for text messages)
the opt-in keyword you send to us (if you enroll via text message)
information you send us in text messages
information about your efforts to quit
personal health information
responses to surveys and questionnaires
your interests and preferences
the name of your Sponsor (if you have one)
account information, such as your username and password
information you share in EX® Community discussions, coaching chats, and customer service requests

Users with access to enhanced features on EX® Program through a Sponsor (such as their employer or health plan) may be able to chat with an EX® Coach on the EX® website or mobile app, and schedule a future chat. Chat and scheduling are hosted by third-party service providers that have their own privacy and opt-out policies.

You can post information about yourself in the EX® Community. This information will be public and not confidential. The EX® Community is hosted by an independent third-party service provider that has its own privacy and opt-out policies.

You can edit your personal information on the Site. You can also contact us to have it deleted.

If you enroll by sending us a text message with an opt-in keyword, you must reply to the first text message you receive from us with your age in order to consent to receive ongoing messaging. By replying with your age, you are accepting this Privacy Policy. Any information about your quit journey that you may provide to us through text messages is collected only after you have consented to receive ongoing messaging.

1.2 Information we collect automatically

EX® Program automatically collects data about users to help deliver the best possible program, such as:

your Internet protocol (IP) address (which can provide general information about your location, country, region, or city, but not your precise location)
browser and operating system type and version
time zone setting
date and time of each visit/text message
pages you visit on the EX® Program website and/or mobile app
your phone number, if you send us a text message with an opt-in keyword to enroll

1.3 Information we obtain from other sources

If you have access to enhanced features on EX® Program through a Sponsor, we may receive personal information from that Sponsor. We will protect any personal information we receive from a Sponsor according to applicable laws, including the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (“HIPAA”) and as required by the Sponsor. Please review any Sponsor privacy notices related to your use of EX® Program. Such notices may include rights and choices you may have about your personal information.

2. How We Use Your Information

Our use of personal data follows applicable legal requirements. We will never sell your personal information. We may decide to use your information in a way we have not yet described in this Privacy Policy. If we do, we will post changes on this page. The ways we use personal data are described below.

2.1 To provide and operate EX® Program

We use your information to customize the program for you. We may use your name, date of birth, gender, and zip code to confirm your access to an enhanced version of EX® Program through a Sponsor. We use your email address to send you emails related to your account, such as password resets, as well as communications relating to your quitting progress. As discussed in Section 5 below, you can opt-out of receiving quitting-related emails from us at any time. However, we reserve the right to continue to send you emails about your account. If you post a message to the EX® Community, we may use information you provide to help other tobacco users quit. From time to time, we may reach out for feedback or for input on new features. If we contact you, we hope you will respond, but you do not have to. Your ability to use EX® Program will not change whether you provide such feedback or not.

When you sign up for EX® Program text messages, you are agreeing that at a later date, we may send you communications and content about other Truth Initiative programs, initiatives, campaigns and messaging. You may unsubscribe from these communications or from EX® Program text messages at any time.

2.2 For research purposes

We may use your information for our own research on how to improve EX® Program and to advance the science about nicotine dependence treatment.

From time to time, we may send you opportunities to provide feedback through longer surveys, which may be hosted by third-party services that have their own terms of service and privacy policies. Your responses to those surveys will be anonymous unless you provide personally identifiable information to us at the time of and in connection with your survey completion.

2.3 For other business purposes

We use personal data to run our business, for record-keeping and corporate governance purposes, to respond to questions from users, to prevent fraud or harm, and to comply with legal requirements or other such reasonable purposes related to running our business.

3. How We Share Your Information

We share your information with the entities described below in accordance with legal and contractual requirements:

3.1 Third party service providers

We share information with third-party service providers who process your information on our behalf and in accordance with our instructions and applicable law. These organizations will only use your personal data to the extent necessary to perform their support functions. They include:

Operational service providers who perform functions such as hosting the EX® Program website, the EX® Community, and EX® Program mobile app; sending emails and text messages; scheduling and hosting chats with EX® Coaches; and ordering and fulfillment of nicotine replacement therapy.
Analytics providers who assist us in improving EX® Program, subject to the Cookies and Information Collected Outside EX® Program sections of this Privacy Policy.

3.2 Sponsoring organizations

We share information about your use of EX® Program with your Sponsor (if you have one) and their business associates. We may report to your Sponsor any unauthorized sharing of your information.

3.3 Academic research partners

We share information with academic research partners who may use your information in research they do with us. All research partners must follow agreements we have in place with them and applicable laws. Academic papers and presentations based on this information contain only aggregated, de-identified data.

3.4 Legal entities and other third parties

We may share information with third parties to comply with legal obligations, to enforce our Terms of Use and other agreements with you, or to protect the rights, property, or safety of Truth Initiative, our customers, our users, or others.

4. Cookies

Cookies are information files that allow a website to remember individual users. When you visit our Site, we may send one or more cookies to the device you use to access the Site. Cookies allow us to show you pages that are only available to logged-in users. They also help us improve our program. We share this information only with our service providers, who use it for the same purposes.

Most internet browsers are set up to accept cookies. You can reset your browser to refuse all cookies or to tell you when a cookie is being sent. Some parts of our Site may not work properly if cookies are disabled.

5. Information Collected Outside EX® Program

You can post reviews of EX® Program mobile apps on mobile app stores such as the Apple® App Store and Google® Play, and you can interact with Truth Initiative® or EX® Program through social media platforms including but not limited to Tik Tok®, YouTube®, Facebook®, Twitter/X®, Snapchat®, and Instagram®. Mobile app stores and social media platforms are operated by independent third parties that have no affiliation with EX® Program or Truth Initiative®. You should not post personal information or information about your use of EX® Program to third party platforms such as these. Information you provide there is not covered by this Privacy Policy and might be public and not confidential. To understand how these third parties collect and use your information, consult their privacy policies.

If you visit EX® Program from another website, that site may gather information about your use of EX® Program, which would not be covered by this Privacy Policy. Visit the links below to learn more, including how to opt out.

Network Advertising Initiative: http://www.networkadvertising.org/choices/
Digital Advertising Alliance: http://www.aboutads.info/choices

6. Opting Out

You can stop quitting-related emails or texts at any time. To stop receiving quitting-related email from us, click "unsubscribe" at the bottom of any email message. You may continue to receive emails related to your account, such as password resets. To stop receiving text messages from us, text back the word STOP to any message. If you need help, please contact us.

7. Security

We take the security of your data very seriously, and we take appropriate security measures to protect user data. Only employees, contractors, and agents who need access to user data to do their jobs are given access. Like other websites, though, we cannot ensure total protection against hackers. We do not provide end-to-end encryption for all electronic messages. We do our best to protect your information but do not guarantee absolute security. Electronic communications to/from EX® Program may contain personal details about you, such as protected health information (PHI) (as defined by HIPAA). This information may not be secure, and it is your responsibility to keep them confidential. By providing your electronic contact information, you are specifically agreeing: (i) to receive electronic messages related to EX® Program; (ii) that the contact information you provide to us is accurate and is accessible only to you and your designees; and (iii) to keep this information current when using the Site, your account, and our Services.

8. Children

We do not intend to collect personal information from children under age 13. Please contact us if you believe we have done so. We will delete such information.

9. Changes to this Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy may change from time to time without notice to you. Please review it from time to time for changes. Your continued use of EX® Program means you accept the terms of this Privacy Policy.

10. Data Retention

We keep user data until it is no longer needed to run our program. We use industry standard security measures to protect it. Because this data is electronic, we cannot and do not guarantee its absolute security.

11. Questions

If you have questions, please contact us.

Truth Initiative

The EX® Program

Last Updated: 11/4/2024

These Terms of Use (“Terms” or “Terms of Use”) constitute an agreement between you (“you” or the “user”) and the Truth Initiative Foundation, and its affiliates, subsidiaries or assigns (collectively, “Truth Initiative,” “we,” “us” or “our”) with respect to your use of the website https://www.exprogram.com/ (the “Site”), the EX® Program, and related services, whether online or offline (collectively, the “Services”). If you do not agree to accept these Terms of Use, you may not access or use the Services.

Any changes we make to these Terms of Use will be effective immediately upon posting on this Site. Please return to this Site periodically to ensure you are familiar with the most current version of these Terms of Use.

1. SERVICES AND YOUR ACCOUNT

By accessing the Site, you are agreeing to these Terms, which may be changed or updated from time to time. In order to access and use certain Services available on this Site, you will need to sign up for, open and maintain an account (your “Account”) with us. Prior to completing the signup process for your Account, you will be required to confirm your acceptance of all of the terms and conditions of these Terms of Use. If you do not agree to these Terms of Use, you may not sign up for an Account and you shall not have the right to use such Services.

By creating an Account, you agree that you will: (i) provide accurate, current and complete information about yourself as prompted by our registration form or otherwise; and (ii) maintain and promptly update your information (including your e-mail address) to keep it accurate, current and complete. If you provide any information that is untrue, inaccurate, not current or incomplete, or if we have reasonable grounds to suspect that such information is untrue, inaccurate, not current or incomplete, we shall have the right to suspend or terminate your Account and any or all privileges on the Services and to refuse any and all current or future use of the Services.

If you enroll in EX Program by sending us a text message with an opt-in keyword, you must reply to the first text message you receive from us with your age in order to consent to receive ongoing messaging. By replying with your age, you are accepting these Terms of Use.

You are responsible for all use of your Account, regardless of whether you authorized such access or use, and for ensuring that all use of your Account complies fully with the provisions of these Terms of Use.

If you wish to delete your Account or terminate your subscription, you can do so at any time. In the event of termination, you will still be bound by your obligations under these Terms.

2. OUR MATERIALS

Truth Initiative may make certain digital reproductions of materials, information, content, software, or other materials (including but not limited to intellectual property, database rights, graphics, videos, text, and logos) available to you from this Site from time to time (collectively, the “EX® Program Materials”). This Site (including its organization, presentation and EX® Program Materials) is the property of Truth Initiative and its licensors and may be protected by intellectual property laws including laws relating to copyrights, trademarks, trade names, internet domain names and other similar rights. Truth Initiative or its licensors own all related trademarks, service marks, and logos, and you agree not to copy or use them in any manner without the prior written permission of Truth Initiative, except as otherwise permitted.

By using the Services, we grant you a non-exclusive, non-transferrable, non-sublicensable right and license to use the EX® Program Materials for your personal use only. If you download, access or use any EX® Program Materials, you agree that such materials: (i) may only be used for your personal use; (ii) may not be modified, used to create a derivative work, incorporated into any other work or otherwise exploited without Truth Initiative’s prior written permission; (iii) shall not be submitted to, processed by, or otherwise fed into any artificial intelligence or automated processing software; and (iv) shall only be used in compliance with any additional license terms accompanying such materials.

3. MEDICAL DISCLAIMER

The information on EX® Program is not medical advice, and it should not be used to make a medical diagnosis or as medical treatment. Do not rely on EX® Program as a substitute for talking to your doctor or healthcare provider for medical advice. EX® Program is provided as a self-help program to quit smoking, vaping, or using any tobacco product. Contact your doctor or healthcare provider if you have concerns about your physical or mental health or about whether EX® Program is working for you.

We do not promise or guarantee any outcome, including that you will successfully quit smoking, vaping, or using any tobacco product.

You are solely responsible for your decision to obtain treatment from a healthcare professional, and you should seek immediate medical attention for any life threatening, mental, or healthcare emergencies.

4. USER CONTENT

You, not Truth Initiative, are legally responsible for any and all information and/or material you submit electronically (such as through the EX® Program or EX® Community websites, via the EX® mobile app, by text message, voicemail, social media, or live chat, or through electronic submission methods), individually and collectively, “Content”. By using the EX® Community (https://excommunity.becomeanex.org) you agree to follow its Community Guidelines. These Guidelines describe respectful behavior, among other things.

In addition, you agree that:

Any messages you post to the EX® Community can be read by anyone as long as the EX® Community exists. Please post carefully.
Any information and/or material you post or submit becomes the property of EX® Program.
You are not allowed to post ads to sell things on EX® Program. Using EX® Program for financial gain is not allowed.
You will post only content to which you own the copyright (or other applicable rights) or have written permission from the rights owner to post.
Truth Initiative does not endorse or take responsibility for user-provided content. While Truth Initiative does not routinely review user-proved content, Truth Initiative reserves the right, but is not obligated, to remove any information or materials for any or no reason, at its sole discretion.

You also agree not to post any material that:

violates or infringes upon the intellectual property, privacy, publicity or similar rights of others;
is abusive, offensive, discriminatory, profane, vulgar, obscene, disparaging, defamatory, libelous, slanderous, or contains information known by you to be false, inaccurate, or misleading;
violates any law, statute, ordinance or regulation or any third party agreement to which you are subject (e.g., Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Pinterest, etc.);
contains (i) third party websites; and/or (ii) addresses, email addresses, contact information, phone numbers or other personal identifiable information (other than your own);
is in the nature of advertising or marketing; and/or
contains any computer viruses, worms, harmful code, or other potentially damaging computer programs, applications or files.

In addition, by electronically submitting Content, you grant Truth Initiative a non-exclusive, perpetual and royalty-free right and license to use, store, display, reproduce, modify, create derivative works, perform, and distribute Content in any manner consistent with Truth Initiative’s charitable purpose. This means that Content may not be treated as confidential and proprietary, and we may use Content you submitted without attribution or compensation or payment of any kind to you.

5. LINKS TO OTHER SITES AND SERVICES

Users of EX® Program may have access to features hosted on a third-party platform that has no affiliation with EX® Program or Truth Initiative and may be governed by their own terms of service. Users with access to enhanced features on EX® Program through a Sponsor (such as an employer or health plan) may be able to chat with an EX® Coach on the EX® Program website or mobile app and schedule a future chat. Chat and scheduling are hosted by TeamSupport and YellowSchedule, third-party service providers that have their own terms of service.

6. SEVERABILITY/NO WAIVER

If any provision of these Terms of Use is found to be unenforceable, then that provision shall be deemed severable from these Terms of Use and shall not affect the validity and enforceability of any remaining provisions. Truth Initiative’s failure to enforce the strict performance of any provision of these Terms or the additional terms and conditions for any Service will not constitute a waiver of our right to subsequently enforce such provision or any other provisions of these Terms or the additional terms and conditions.

7. DISCLAIMERS: SITE, SERVICES AND MATERIALS PROVIDED “AS-IS”

THIS SITE, THE SERVICES AND THE EX® PROGRAM MATERIALS ARE PROVIDED “AS IS,” “WHERE IS,” AND “WITH ALL FAULTS,” WITHOUT REPRESENTATION, WARRANTY OR CONDITION OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED REPRESENTATIONS, WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF MERCHANTABILITY, NON-INFRINGEMENT, OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. TRUTH INITIATIVE DOES NOT REPRESENT OR WARRANT THAT THIS SITE, THE SERVICES, OR THE EX® PROGRAM MATERIALS WILL MEET YOUR REQUIREMENTS. NO ADVICE OR INFORMATION, WHETHER ORAL OR WRITTEN, OBTAINED BY YOU FROM TRUTH INITIATIVE, OR THROUGH THE SITE SHALL CREATE ANY WARRANTY REGARDING THE SERVICES NOT EXPRESSLY STATED IN THESE TERMS. YOU UNDERSTAND AND ACKNOWLEDGE THAT ADDITIONAL DISCLAIMERS, LIMITATIONS, AND NOTICES REGARDING THE SERVICES AND ITS CONTENT AND DATA MAY BE PROVIDED BY TRUTH INITIATIVE FROM TIME TO TIME WITHIN THE SERVICES.

WE DO NOT WARRANT THAT THE WEBSITE AND ITS SERVERS ARE FREE OF COMPUTER VIRUSES OR OTHER HARMFUL CONTENT. IF YOUR USE OF THE SERVICES, THE MATERIAL, OR THE SOFTWARE RESULTS IN THE NEED FOR SERVICING OR REPLACING EQUIPMENT OR DATA, WE ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR THOSE COSTS.

Please note that some jurisdictions do not allow the disclaimer of certain representations or warranties, so the disclaimer in this Section will apply to you to the extent permitted by applicable law.

8. LIMITATION OF LIABILITY

YOU AGREE THAT NONE OF THE “PROTECTED PARTIES” (AS DEFINED BELOW) SHALL HAVE ANY LIABILITY TO YOU UNDER ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY OR INDEMNITY IN CONNECTION WITH YOUR USE OF THE SITE AND/OR SERVICES. YOU HEREBY RELEASE AND FOREVER WAIVE ANY AND ALL CLAIMS YOU MAY HAVE AGAINST THE PROTECTED PARTIES (INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO CLAIMS BASED UPON THE NEGLIGENCE OF ANY OF THE PROTECTED PARTIES) FOR LOSSES OR DAMAGES YOU SUSTAIN IN CONNECTION WITH YOUR USE OF THE SITE AND/OR SERVICES.

NOTWITHSTANDING THE FOREGOING PARAGRAPH AND TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, THE TOTAL LIABILITY OF THE PROTECTED PARTIES, FOR ANY CLAIM, COST, DAMAGE, OR LOSS ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THE SERVICES, INCLUDING FOR ANY WARRANTIES THAT MAY NOT BE EXCLUDED, SHALL NOT EXCEED $10.00 (TEN DOLLARS) (USD) (THE “LIABILITY CAP”). TRUTH INITIATIVE AND YOU AGREE THAT THE LIABILITY CAP SHALL INCLUDE ANY AND ALL FORMS OF DAMAGES.

Some jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion or limitation of liability for certain types of damages. In such jurisdictions, our liability is limited to the greatest extent permitted by law.

9. INDEMNIFICATION

You will defend, indemnify, and hold Truth Initiative, each third-party service provider, their respective affiliates, subsidiaries, and parent companies, and their respective officers, directors, employees, agents, information providers, and partners (collectively, the “Protected Parties”) harmless from and against any actual or threatened suit, actions, proceedings (at law or in equity), claims, damages, payments, deficiencies, fines, judgments, settlements, liabilities, losses, costs, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys’ fees, costs, penalties, interest, and disbursements) arising from or related to (a) your conduct with respect to the Services and/or (b) violation (or alleged violation) of these Terms by you or any other person accessing the Site or Services on your behalf. Under no circumstance will Truth Initiative be liable for damages of any kind that result from your use of, or the inability to use, the Services.

Please note that some jurisdictions limit the extent to which a party may indemnify another. As such, this provision will apply to you to the extent permitted by applicable law.

10. MISCELLANEOUS

These Terms of Use shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the District of Columbia (without regard to provisions relating to conflicts of law), except as to copyright and trademark matters, which are covered by American federal laws. You agree that any legal action or proceeding between Truth Initiative and you for any purpose concerning these Terms or the parties’ obligations hereunder shall be resolved individually, without resort to any form of class action, exclusively in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, or, if there is not subject matter jurisdiction, in the courts of the District of Columbia, and you agree to submit to the jurisdiction of these courts. You waive any venue, personal jurisdiction, and inconvenient forum objections or defenses to such courts.

These Terms of Use are not assignable, transferable, or sublicensable by you except with Truth Initiative’s prior written consent. Truth Initiative may assign its rights and duties under these Terms of Use at any time without notice to you.

No waiver by either party of any breach or default hereunder shall be deemed to be a waiver of any preceding or subsequent breach or default.

Truth Initiative can change or discontinue any part of the EX® Program at any time. Truth Initiative can also restrict access to al or parts of the EX® Program at any time.

11. CONTACT INFORMATION

If you need to contact us regarding this Site, the Services or these Terms of Use, please reach out to us by email at exprogram@truthinitiative.org.

Privacy Policy and Terms of Use