Dine Brands International, Inc. Privacy Policy Canada

Last Updated/Effective Date: August 1, 2023

1.0 Introduction

Your privacy is important to us. Dine Brands International, Inc. understands your concerns regarding how information about you is used and shared, and we appreciate that you trust us to use and share information about you carefully and sensibly.

This Privacy Policy describes what information Dine Brands International, Inc. and its affiliates, including International House of Pancakes, LLC (“IHOP”), Applebee’s International, Inc. (“Applebee’s”), and Fuzzy’s Taco Opportunities, LLC (“Fuzzy’s”) (collectively “Dine”, “us”, “our”, and “we”), collect about you, how we collect it, how we use it, to whom we may disclose it, and what choices you have regarding it. This Privacy Policy applies to your use of our websites including, without limitation, https://www.dinebrands.com/en, https://www.ihop.com/en, https://www.applebees.com/en, https://fuzzystacoshop.com/, http://applebeescanada.com, our mobile websites, our mobile apps, any other platforms that link to this Privacy Policy (each, a “Site,” and collectively, the “Sites”), and any other means by which we may collect information about you, including information you may provide to us onsite at one of our restaurants.

We encourage you to become familiar with this Privacy Policy. By accessing and using the Sites, you agree that you have read and understand this Privacy Policy and that you accept and consent to the privacy practices (and any collections, uses, and disclosures of information about you) that are described in this Privacy Policy.

This Privacy Policy does not apply to any websites operated by third parties. We are not responsible for, and this Privacy Policy does not apply to, the privacy practices of other companies or other websites. We encourage you to seek out and read the privacy policy of each website that you visit.

2.0 How Do We Collect Your Information?

Dine collects information relating to you and your use of the Sites to provide services and features that are responsive to your needs. Dine collects personal information in the following ways:

  • From you. We collect information from you when you register an account with us, request information, send us email, send us postal mail, apply for a job with us, speak with us on the telephone, use the discussion forums and interactive areas of our Social Media (as defined below) pages, or otherwise interact with us. Please be aware that to submit job application materials online to work with us, you will be redirected from our Site to a website operated by our third-party service provider. You may be required to create an account with that vendor. We encourage you to review the terms and privacy policy posted on that vendor’s website since this Privacy Policy does not govern your use of that website.
  • From our franchisees. We may receive information about you from our Applebee’s, Fuzzy’s, and IHOP franchisees, including information that you provide onsite at our franchisee restaurants.
  • From our apps.We may collect information from your mobile device when our apps are installed on your mobile device, or you provide your information to us via the apps.
  • From other third-party sources. We may receive information about you from our third-party service providers who help us to provide services to you, including our Sites and Social Media providers.
  • Automatically as you navigate the websites and apps. Information collected automatically may include usage details, email address, IP addresses, and information collected through cookies and other tracking technologies.

3.0 What Information Do We Collect?

 3.1 Information You Provide to Us

We may collect the following information about you including, but not limited to:

  • First and last name
  • Postal address and/or postal code
  • Email address
  • Phone number
  • Date of birth
  • Gender
  • Military or veteran status
  • External social network credentials
  • Credit card or other payment information
  • Mobile app and/or website log-in credentials
  • Location data
  • Demographic information
  • Dining preferences
  • Who you typically dine with (e.g.,family and friends)
  • When you normally visit our restaurant locations (e.g.,breakfast, lunch, and dinner)
  • How often you visit our restaurant locations
  • Feedback and/or guest relations data
  • Information you choose to share on the discussion forums and interactive areas of our Social Media pages

3.2 Information We and Our Third-Party Service Providers Collect

When you use our Sites, we and our third-party service providers automatically collect information about how you access and use the Sites and information about the device you use to access the Sites. We typically collect this information through a variety of tools including cookies, web beacons, pixels, Social Media widgets, other tools to enable data recording and indexing, and similar technology (collectively, “tracking technologies”). We and our third-party partners may automatically collect information such as:

  • IP or MAC address 
  • Device type 
  • Unique device identifier (UDID)/other device identifier (IMEI)
  • Browser type 
  • Operating system or platform
  • Name of Internet Service Provider (ISP)
  • Referring website
  • Exiting website 
  • Clickstream data 
  • Search terms entered on the websites(s)
  • Pages visited on the website(s) 
  • Time, date, and duration of visit to the website(s)
  • Whether you open emails from us
  • Links you click on in our emails and on our Sites including ads
  • Whether you access our Sites from multiple devices
  • Other interactions you may have on our Sites
  • Location/geo-location (e.g., latitude/longitude, Wi-Fi/cell tower location, etc.) 

4.0 How Do We Use Your Personal Information?

We use personal information to provide services to you and additional services you request, as well as to respond to communications from you and as permitted or required by law. The precise purposes for which your personal information is used will be determined by the services used, the request, and by applicable laws, regulatory guidance, and professional standards.

We use information we collect from you and information that we collect automatically to manage and improve our Sites and our business. For example, we use information to:

  • To provide services to you.
  • To provide our Sites and their functionalities to you.
  • To provide you with location-specific services. If you elect to share your location information with us, we may use that information to tailor options, functionalities, or offers related to your location. 
  • To market our own services to you.If you join our rewards programs and other special marketing campaigns, we may use your personal information including demographic information, birthday, personal preferences, purchase history, franchise locations you visit, and information about you from third-party sources—including your location information and online browsing across time and third-party sites—to send you real time, geographically relevant, and personalized offers, services, and promotions for our brands, affiliates, or third-party partners.
  • To conduct data analytics to support our Sites and business as further described in this Privacy Policy.
  • Manage our business needs, such as monitoring, analyzing, and improving the services and the Sites’ performance and functionality. For example, we analyze website user behavior and conduct research and analysis about the way you and other users use our Sites.
  • Manage risk and protect the Sites. We use data to better protect our services, our Sites, and you by helping to detect and prevent fraud and abuse of the Sites and our services.
  • Tailor our offerings to your apparent interests
  • To operate and improve our business.
  • To maintain our records.
  • Conduct internal monitoring and training.
  • Develop new services and products.
  • Conduct processing necessary to fulfill other contractual obligations for you.
  • To comply with our legal and regulatory obligations.We will use your information as necessary to enforce the terms of our Sites and services to comply with all applicable laws and regulations.
  • For other purposes for which you provide your consent. For other purposes which are disclosed to you at the time your information is collected or for purposes which can be inferred from or are obvious given the circumstances of collection.
  • For you to participate in discussion forums and interactive areas of our Social Media pages.
  • As required or permitted by law.

Sometimes we may de-identify information by removing identifiers that can be used to associate the information with you. De-identified information helps us develop reports and analyses about how our customers use our Sites and for other purposes such as research regarding behavioral inferences. To further protect your privacy, de-identified information does not include contact information or any other information that would identify any specific individual or household.

5.0       Do We Disclose Any Information to Outside Parties?

We do not sell your personal information to third parties, but we do disclose your personal information in the circumstances described below.

  • The public and other companies. We may share de-identified information via reports and analyses publicly and with other companies.
  • Our affiliates. We may share your personal information with our affiliates and between all Dine brands (including Applebee’s, IHOP, and Fuzzy’s) to serve you, including for the activities listed above.
  • Our franchisees. We may share your personal information with Applebee’s, IHOP, and Fuzzy’s franchisees.
  • Third-party service providers. We may disclose your personal information to our vendors and other third-party service providers, such as credit card processors and website hosts, that help us provide services, support features on our Sites or in franchise restaurants, or otherwise market our brands. We may also disclose aggregated, de-identified information, and analyses and reports derived from such information, to service providers, advertisers, merchants, consumer and market research companies, and other organizations. These service providers are responsible for their own compliance with data protection laws.
  • Legal requirements and business transfers. We may disclose personal information: (i) if we are required to do so by law, legal process, statute, rule, regulation, or professional standard, or to respond to a subpoena, search warrant, or other government official requests; (ii) when we believe disclosure is necessary or appropriate to prevent physical harm or financial loss; (iii) in connection with an investigation of a complaint, security threat, or suspected or actual illegal activity; (iv) in connection with an internal audit; or (v) in the event that Dine is subject to mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures, sales of assets, reorganizations, divestitures, dissolutions, bankruptcies, liquidations, or other types of business transactions, or should any such transaction be proposed, as permitted by applicable law. In these types of transactions, personal information may be shared, sold, or transferred, and it may be used subsequently by a third party.
  • As required or permitted by law.

6.0 What Choices Do You Have About Your Personal Information?

We offer certain choices about how we communicate with you and what personal information we obtain about you and share with others. 

  • If you have created a profile or account on our Sites, you can update your contact information after you log into your account.
  • E-mail. If you no longer wish to receive promotional or informational emails from us, you may opt-out from receiving future emails from us by following the instructions for unsubscribing in the promotional or informational emails we send you or by contacting us at the email address or phone number below.
  • Rewards programs and marketing campaigns. Your participation in our special rewards programs and other marketing campaigns is completely up to you, and if at any point you no longer wish to be a member or participate in these programs, you may opt out according to the instructions provided in the communication or by contacting us at privacydesk@dinebrands.com.
  • IHOP Text Messaging Mobile Program. If you have opted into a promotional text-based campaign, and no longer wish to receive SMS messages from IHOP, you may opt out from receiving future SMS messages from IHOP by texting STOP to 90536 or by contacting us at the email address or phone number below. Please note that even if you opt out of receiving future text-based or email marketing communications from us, we may still contact you about your account or any products or services you have purchased from us, engage with you in general advertising practices such as television or online ads, and respond to your inquiries or requests for information. To contact IHOP customer service, call (866) 444-5144 or email IHOP at https://www.ihop.com/en/contact-us.
  • We provide a variety of services on our Sites using cookies. We place cookies on your device to provide you with personalized access to essential services, enhance functionality, and show you offers and services tailored to your interests. A cookie is a small piece of data that a website can send to your browser, which may then be stored on your hard drive as a “tag” that identifies your computer. Cookies help to navigate from page to page on a website, provide secure connections, gather statistics about the usage and effectiveness of our Sites, and remember preferences from a previous visit when you return. We use third-party services for analytics and interest-based advertising purposes. These service providers and ad partners may use cookies alone or in conjunction with unique identifiers, beacons, and other tracking technologies to collect information about you when you use our Sites, open our emails, or interact with our ads. Most web browsers automatically accept cookies, but you can change your browser settings to disable all or certain cookies if you wish. Please note that by disabling or deleting cookies, you may not be able to access the full functionality of our Sites. Disabling or clearing cookies also may affect cookie-based opt-outs by either preventing you from using such cookie-based opt-outs or clearing opt-outs that you previously set.
  • Do Not Track. Because there currently is not an industry or legal standard for recognizing or honoring Do Not Track (“DNT”) signals, we do not respond to them at this time.
  • Location data. You may opt out of having your location data collected by Dine at any time by editing the appropriate setting on your mobile device (which is usually located in the settings of your device) or by emailing privacydesk@dinebrands.com.

7.0 Use and Disclosure of Non-Personal Information

Dine may collect, use, share, transfer, and otherwise process de-identified and aggregated information that it receives or creates for any purpose in its sole discretion, in compliance with applicable laws. Dine is the sole and exclusive owner of such de-identified and aggregated information, including if Dine de-identifies personal information so that it is no longer considered personal information under applicable laws.

8.0 Data Automatically Collected

Dine uses Google Analytics to process personal information about your use of our Sites. Google sets cookies on your browser or device, and then your web browser will automatically send information to Google. Google uses this information to provide us with reports that we use to better understand and measure how users interact with our Sites.

To learn more about how Google uses data, visit Google’s Privacy Policy and Google’s page on “How Google Uses Data When You Use Our Partners’ Sites or Apps.” You may download the Google Analytics Opt-Out Browser Add-On for each web browser you use, but this does not prevent the use of other analytics tools. To learn more about Google Analytics cookies, visit Google Analytics Cookie Usage on Websites.

We use third parties and/or service providers to provide interest-based advertising services. These services may serve advertisements on our behalf that are customized based on predictions about your interests generated from your visits to websites (including our Sites) over time and across different websites. The data collected may be associated with your personal information. These advertisements may appear on our Sites and on other websites.

We use Google Ads to serve ads across various websites. Google uses Cookies to collect data about your visits to our Sites to generate targeted advertisements to you on other websites that you visit. To opt out of this type of advertising by Google, customize your ad preferences, or limit Google’s collection or use of such data, visit Google’s Safety Center and Google’s Ad Settings and follow Google’s Personalized Ad Opt-Out Instructions. Opting out will not affect your use of our Sites.

To change your preferences with respect to certain online ads or obtain more information about ad networks and online behavioral advertising, visit National Advertising Initiative Consumer Opt-Out Page or the Digital Advertising Alliance Self-Regulatory Program. Changing your settings with individual browsers or ad networks will not necessarily carry over to other browsers or ad networks. As a result, depending on the opt-outs you request, you may still see our ads. Opting out of targeted advertising does not opt you out of all ads, just those targeted to you.

Google Maps. Our Sites contain maps provided by third parties and/or service providers for your convenience. Dine and such other parties may collect data about how you interact with the maps. For example, Google may collect usage data on maps embedded on the Sites. Even if you do not interact with the maps, Google may still collect certain information about your interactions with our Sites if you are signed into your Google account when accessing our Sites. Please see Google’s Privacy Policy for more information.

9.0 Social Media

We are active on Social Media, including Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn (“Social Media”). Anything you post on Social Media is public information and will not be treated confidentially. We may post (or re-post) on the Sites and our Social Media pages any comments or content that you post on our Social Media pages.

Our Sites allow you to connect and share data with Social Media platforms. These features may require us to use cookies, plug-ins, and APIs provided by such Social Media platforms to facilitate those communications and features. Our Sites may use advertising networks and services offered by Social Media platforms to deliver advertising content. Use of these services requires Social Media platforms to implement cookies or pixel tags to deliver ads to you while you access the Sites.

For Social Media platforms, the terms of use and policies of the platforms also apply. We assume no liability for the Social Media platforms’ acts.

10.0 Location of Our Sites

Our Sites are hosted in the United States. However, we and our service providers may store information about individuals in the United States, and we may transfer it to, and store it within, Canada and other countries where our service providers, affiliates, franchisees, or other entities to whom we disclose personal information are located. For example, we may transfer and store personal information in the United States, Canada, and Mexico.

In such cases, the personal information will be subject to the local laws of the places in which it transferred and stored, and may be subject to disclosure to the governments, courts or law enforcement, or regulatory agencies of such other places, pursuant to their laws. For more information about international transfers of personal information, you may contact us using the contact information we provide below.

11.0     How Long Do We Retain Your Personal Information?

We will keep your personal information for the period necessary to fulfill the purposes described in this Privacy Policy, unless a longer retention period is permitted or required by law.

12.0     Third-Party Links

Occasionally, at our discretion, we may include or offer third-party products or services on our Sites. These third-party sites have separate and independent privacy policies. We therefore have no responsibility or liability for the content and activities of these linked sites. We urge you to read the privacy policies of other websites before submitting any information to those websites. 

13.0 How Do We Protect Your Information?

Dine has implemented reasonable physical, technical, and administrative security standards to protect personal information from loss, misuse, alteration, or destruction. We strive to protect your personal information against unauthorized access, use, or disclosure, using security technologies and procedures, such as encryption and limited access. Only authorized individuals access your personal information, and they receive training about the importance of protecting personal information.

14.0 Rights of Canadian Residents

If you are a resident of Canada, you have certain rights with respect to your personal information, including as set out below.

Withdrawal of Consent

Individuals have the right to withdraw their consent to the collection, use, or disclosure of personal information at any time, except where that withdrawal would frustrate the performance of a legal obligation by Dine. Upon reasonable written notice given to Dine, all personal information held by Dine that is identifiable to that individual will be removed from our records, and a notice of the impact of that removal will be provided to the individual. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if you withdraw consent, Dine nonetheless reserves the right to retain, collect, use, and disclose personal information without your consent where we are permitted by law to do so.

Access to and Correction of Personal Information

Individuals have the right to know what personal information Dine has collected about them, how that information is being used, and to whom it has been disclosed, as well as to verify and amend that information if it is incorrect. Upon receiving a written access and/or correction request, and where the identity of the requestor can be confirmed, information held by Dine that is identifiable to the requestor, as well as information on all use and disclosures of that information, will be released to the requestor within the legally prescribed period, except where that release is not required or is prohibited by law, and if necessary, Dine will correct the personal information of the requestor. If we deny your request for access to, or refuse a request to correct, personal information, we will explain why.

15.0 Notice of Financial Incentive

If you sign up for our Applebee’s, IHOP, or Fuzzy’s loyalty programs, you will receive credit for each dollar spent at participating restaurants, which can be redeemed for reward items or free food.

When you sign up for the Applebee’s loyalty program at https://www.applebees.com/en/sign-up, we will ask you to submit the following personal information:

  • Home province and location
  • First and last name
  • Month and day of birth
  • E-mail address
  • Password
  • Preferred method of contact
  • Phone number
  • Mailing address

When you sign up for the IHOP loyalty program (International Bank of Pancakes) at https://www.ihop.com/rewards, we will ask you to submit the following personal information:

  • First and last name
  • E-mail address
  • Postal code
  • Preferred IHOP location
  • Password
  • Birthdate (optional)
  • Mobile phone number (optional)

When you sign up for the Fuzzy’s loyalty program at https://fuzzystacoshop.com/rewards/, we will ask you to submit the following personal information:

  • Email
  • First and last name
  • Phone number
  • Password
  • Birthday
  • Postal code
  • Favorite location

Please be aware that you may withdraw from the loyalty programs at any time by e-mailing us at privacydesk@dinebrands.com or calling (866) 926-5019.

16.0     Children’s Information

Our Sites are not intended for children under 13 years of age. No one under age 13 may provide any information to or on the Sites. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you are under 13, do not use or provide any information on the Sites or on or through any of its features, including your name, address, telephone number, e-mail address, or any username you may use. If we learn we have collected or received personal information from a child under 13 without verification of parental consent, we will delete that information. If you believe we might have any information from or about a child under 13, please contact us at privacydesk@dinebrands.com.

17.0 Changes to Our Privacy Policy

It is our policy to post any changes we make to our Privacy Policy on this page. If we make material changes to how we treat our users’ personal information, we may notify you by e-mail to the primary e-mail address specified in your account and/or possibly through a notice on our Sites’ home pages. The date the Privacy Policy was last revised is identified at the top of the page. You are responsible for ensuring we have an up-to-date active and deliverable e-mail address for you and for periodically visiting our Sites and this Privacy Policy to check for any changes.

18.0 Contacting Us

For any questions, or to request further information regarding this Privacy Policy, please contact us at privacydesk@dinebrands.com. You may also call (866) 926-5019 for telephonic assistance.

OUR SAFETY-FIRST COMMITMENT

The safety and well-being of our Team Members, guests and neighbourhoods continue to be our main priority during this COVID-19 Pandemic. Our dining rooms and patios have all re-opened according to Provincial and Federal directives. Please check with your local Applebee's for more details.