Protecting your privacy
We believe privacy is a fundamental right. We also understand the sensitivity of your health information. We believe in being transparent about our use of personal data. We want you to know that the information you share on Health Answers by Pfizer helps us tailor responses, content, and recommended actions you can take. We believe in using data in ways that you would expect and respect your privacy and choices you make about the sharing and use of your data. We also take precautions designed to keep your data secure and believe safeguarding your data is essential to respecting privacy.
When you entrust us with your personal data, you can expect that we will act ethically and responsibly. To learn more, read our Privacy Policy.
Privacy Policy
Effective January 1, 2025
This Privacy Policy describes the information that we collect about you on the Health Answers by Pfizer website (“Site”) and mobile application (“App”) (collectively, “Services”); how we use that information; how we protect it; and the choices you may make with respect to it. Except as specifically provided below in the Additional State Disclosures Section, this Privacy Policy does not apply to any other information collected by Pfizer Inc. by or through any other means, such as information collected offline. Our Services may contain links to third-party websites/content/services that are not owned or controlled by Pfizer. Pfizer is not responsible for how these properties operate or treat your personal data, so we recommend that you read the privacy policies and terms associated with these third-party properties carefully.
California and Certain State Residents
This Privacy Policy describes how we collect, use, disclose, and retain your personal information. For additional information relating to your rights and our processing of your personal information collected both online and offline, please navigate to the Additional State Disclosures Section below.
Supplemental Health Data Privacy Policy
We have included additional disclosures about our privacy practices related to your health data in our Health Data Policy.
We collect information about you directly from you, automatically through your use of the Services, and from third parties.
Information We Collect Directly from You
We collect personal data you choose to provide, e.g., when you create an account, build your health profile, and in connection with your inquiries. For example, you may choose to provide your name, contact information, or health information while using the Services.
Information We Collect Automatically
We, our Service Providers, and our Third-Party Action Providers (as defined below) may automatically collect information when you use our Services, such as your browser type and operating system, web pages you view, links you click, your IP address, the length of time you visit our Site, and the referring URL, or webpage that led you to our Site. We, our Service Providers, and our Third-Party Action Providers may use these technologies to collect information about your online activities, including content you interact with, which may, at times, suggest information about your health. See also, the Section below on Cookies and Other Tools.
Information We Collect from Other Sources
From time to time, we may use or augment the personal data we have about you with information obtained from other sources, such as public databases and other third parties.
If you choose to connect your Health Answers account to your account on another service, we may receive information from the other service. For example, if you connect your Health Answers account on the App and grant us access to your Apple Health account, we may, at your direction, import your Apple Health data. You can stop sharing the information from the other service with us by removing our access to that other service.
If you submit any personal data relating to other people to us, you represent that you have the authority to do so and to permit us to use the information in accordance with this Privacy Policy.
We may use your personal data in the following ways for our business purposes:
To Serve You
We use your personal data to:
- Operate our business;
- Deliver our products and services, including providing a personalized experience on our Site and App;
- Process, complete and fulfil your requested transactions;
- Provide customer service and respond to requests or inquiries;
- Communicate with you;
- Tailor our marketing programs and campaigns; and
- Provide you with newsletters, articles, alerts, announcements, invitations, and other relevant information.
Health Answers by Pfizer uses generative artificial intelligence technology (“Generative AI”) to summarize trusted sources, including publicly available peer-reviewed scientific literature, to generate answers to questions you may pose on the Services. The use of Generative AI and generated answers are for informational purposes only. We may use the personal data you provide in connection with your use of the Services to respond to your questions.
To Connect You with Third Parties
We may use your personal data to recommend products or services offered by our third-party business partners linked on our Services (“Third-Party Action Providers”) and to facilitate your ability to seek these products and services. If you choose to seek the products or services offered by these Third-Party Action Providers, you may leave the Site or App and enter the site of these third parties. We may also, with your permission, use your personal data to recommend and connect you to our affiliates and other third parties outside of our Services regarding products and/or services that may be of interest to you.
To Improve Products and Services and Protect Consumers
We use the information you provide for data analysis, to better understand how our products and services impact you and those you care for, to track and respond to concerns, for fraud prevention and to further develop and improve our products and services. In addition, we use the information you provide to comply with our regulatory monitoring and reporting obligations including those related to adverse events, product complaints and consumer safety.
In Aggregated or De-identified Form
We may aggregate and/or de-identify data about visitors to our Site and users of our App and use such aggregated and/or de-identified data for any purpose, including product and service development and improvement activities and other commercial purposes. To the extent we deidentify any data originally based on personal information, we will maintain and use such data only in deidentified form and will not attempt to reidentify the data.
Pfizer may disclose your personal data for our business purposes as follows:
In Connection with our Sharing Functionality
As a Health Answers account holder you can share content, products, and services with others by using the sharing functionality within the Services. When you use this sharing functionality to share answers, we create a publicly available link to the answer page you wish to share, which may include personal information about you (e.g., information provided when posing your question on the Services). Such information will be visible to the recipient of the shared link and any other individuals that may access the link (e.g., if the recipient shares the link with another individual). You may revoke access to shared links at any time in account preferences. As described in our Terms and Conditions, Pfizer may remove certain public or shared links for any reason (e.g., when a user violates our Terms and Conditions) at any time, with or without notice.
In Connection with Business Transfers
If we sell or transfer a business unit (such as a subsidiary) or an asset (such as a website) to another company (including in connection with any bankruptcy or similar proceedings), we will disclose your personal data to such company and will require such company to use and protect your personal data consistent with this Privacy Policy. We may also disclose your personal data to companies that were formerly wholly or partly included in the Pfizer family of companies to whom we provide services during a transition period following separation.
With Service Providers
We may retain other companies and individuals to perform services on our behalf (collectively, “Service Providers”). These third parties may be provided with access to personal data needed to perform their functions, but they may not use such data other than on our behalf or subject to contracts that protect the confidentiality of the data. Examples of Service Providers include customer service and support providers, email and SMS vendors, data analytics firms, and web hosting and development companies. Some Service Providers may collect personal data on our behalf on the Services.
With Third-Party Parties
Depending on the products or services recommended to you, some embedded content from third-party action providers may use limited personal data, such as information about your device, to operate properly and facilitate your ability to access these offerings. As a result, your choice to use this embedded content or seek these products or services may result in your personal data being disclosed or made available to Third-Party Action Providers for this purpose. Subject to your permission, we may also disclose your personal data to our affiliates and other third parties who offer products and/or services outside of our Services that may be of interest to you.
To Comply with Law/Protect
We reserve the right to disclose your personal data as required by law, when we believe disclosure is necessary or appropriate to comply with a regulatory requirement, judicial proceeding, court order, government request, or legal process served on us, or to protect the safety, rights, or property of our customers, the public, Pfizer or others.
In the Aggregate/De-identified
Pfizer may also disclose aggregate or de-identified data that is not personally identifiable to third parties for any purpose permitted under applicable law, including any commercial purpose.
You may have certain rights regarding our processing of your personal data under applicable local state law, including, for example, if you are a consumer in California or Virginia. If our processing of your personal data is governed by such laws, the following provisions apply to our processing of your personal data, whether collected online or offline. These provisions supplement the other sections of the Privacy Policy. If you are a resident of Connecticut, Nevada or Washington, please refer to our Health Data Policy regarding our processing of your health data.
We do not “sell” or “share” for cross-contextual behavioral advertising (as those terms are defined under applicable local law) the categories of personal data described below. We do not use or disclose sensitive personal data for purposes other than permitted under applicable local law.
As may be required under applicable local law, the chart below provides the categories of personal data that we: (1) collect and have collected in the preceding 12 months; and (2) disclose for a business purpose and have disclosed for a business purpose in the preceding 12 months. Subject to your use of Pfizer’s sharing functionality as a Health Answers account holder and the information you provide, certain categories of personal data may be made available to third parties via a publicly available link as described above. For more information about how we disclose your personal data, refer to the How We Disclose Your Personal Data Section above.
| CATEGORIES OF PERSONAL DATA WE COLLECT AND DISCLOSE | DISCLOSED TO WHICH CATEGORIES OF THIRD PARTIES |
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A. NAME, CONTACT INFORMATION AND IDENTIFIERS: Identifiers such as a real name, alias, unique personal identifier, online identifier, Internet Protocol address, email address, account name, user name or other similar identifiers. |
Service Providers; Third-Party Action Providers Our affiliates and other third parties (with your permission) |
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B. CUSTOMER AND OTHER RECORDS: Paper and electronic customer records containing personal data, such as name, physical characteristics or description, address, telephone number. |
Service Providers |
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C. PROTECTED CLASSIFICATIONS: Characteristics of protected classifications under applicable state or federal law such as race, color, sex, gender, age, national origin, disability. |
Service Providers |
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D. USAGE DATA: Internet or other electronic network activity information, including, but not limited to, browsing history, search history, and information regarding a resident’s interaction with the Site. |
Service Providers |
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E. SENSITIVE INFORMATION: As defined under applicable local law, such as certain characteristics of protected classifications, account login credential and passwords, and health information or data that may suggest information about your health. |
Service Providers |
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F. PROFILES AND INFERENCES: Inferences drawn from any of the information identified above to create a profile about a resident reflecting the resident’s preferences, characteristics, psychological trends, predispositions, behaviour, attitudes, intelligence, abilities, and aptitudes. |
Service Providers |
As described in the Data we collect and use section above, we may collect this personal data from you and from other categories of sources: public databases and other third parties, when they share the information with us.
Also as described above in the How we disclose your personal data section, we may use this personal data to serve you; to connect you with third parties; to provide and improve products and services; to protect consumers; to operate, manage, and maintain our business; to respond to your questions and inquiries; to fulfill your requests; to send administrative information to you; to send you certain marketing communications; and to personalize your experience on the Services. We may also use your personal data for our business purposes and objectives, including, data analysis; audits; developing new products; improving existing products; identifying usage trends; determining the effectiveness of promotional campaigns; preventing fraud; and expanding our business activities. Additionally, we may use this personal data to comply with applicable law, legal process, respond to requests from public and government authorities, and to protect our rights, operations, and enforce our terms of service.
As described in the Retention period section below, we may retain your personal data for as long as needed or permitted in light of the purpose(s) for which it was obtained and as outlined in this Privacy Policy, depending on the length of our relationship with you, whether there is a legal obligation to which we are subject; or whether retention is advisable in light of our legal position.
Subject to certain exceptions and depending on where you live, you may have the right to make the following requests, at no charge:
- Copy: You may request, up to twice every 12 months, a copy of the specific pieces of personal data that we have collected, used or disclosed about you in the prior 12 months and to have this delivered, free of charge, either (a) by mail or (b) electronically in a portable and, to the extent technically feasible, readily useable format that allows you to transmit this information to another entity without hindrance.
- Correct: You may request correction of your personal data that we have collected about you if it is inaccurate or incomplete.
- Delete: You may request deletion of your personal data that we have collected about you.
- Know: You may request that we provide you certain information about how we have handled your personal data, including the:
- categories of personal data collected;
- categories of sources of personal data;
- business and/or commercial purposes for collecting your personal data;
- categories of third parties/with whom we have disclosed or shared your personal data; and
- categories of personal data that we have disclosed or shared with a third party for a business purpose.
You have the right to be free from unlawful discrimination for exercising your rights under applicable state law.
Submitting Requests
You may submit requests to delete, correct, access a copy and/or know personal data we have collected about you by completing our Contact Us form. You will be asked to provide certain personal information when submitting your request including your first and last name and email address for us to determine if your information is in our systems.
We will further verify and respond to your request consistent with applicable law, considering the type and sensitivity of the personal information subject to the request. We may need to request additional personal information from you, such as your date of birth or government identifier, in order to protect against fraudulent or spoofed requests. If you want to make a request as an authorized agent on behalf of an individual under applicable local law, you may use the submission methods noted above. As part of our verification process, we may request that you provide us with proof that you have been authorized by the individual on whose behalf you are making the request under applicable local law, which may include signed permission provided by such individual.
Appeals
You may have a right to appeal against a decision we make relating to requests to exercise your rights under applicable local law.
To appeal a decision, please complete our Contact Us form.
Please contact us according to the Contact Us Section below, if you have any questions regarding this Section.
Pfizer and its Service Providers collect information about you by using cookies, tracking pixels and other technologies (collectively, “Tools”). We use this information to better understand, customize and improve user experience with our websites, services and offerings. For example, we use web analytics services that leverage these Tools to help us to understand how visitors engage with and navigate our Services, e.g., how and when pages in a site are visited and by how many visitors, and our communications and surveys. We are also able to offer our visitors and users a more customized, relevant experience on our Services using these Tools by delivering content and functionality based on your preferences and interests. If we have collected your personal data, e.g., when you create an account or request for certain materials, we may associate this personal data with information gathered through the Tools. This allows us to offer increased personalization and functionality on the Services.
Your web browser can be set to allow you to control whether you will accept cookies, reject cookies, or to notify you each time a cookie is sent to your browser. If your browser is set to reject cookies, websites that are cookie-enabled will not recognize you when you return to the website, and some website functionality may be lost. The Help section of your browser may tell you how to prevent your browser from accepting cookies. To find out more about cookies, visit www.aboutcookies.org.
Certain information is collected by most browsers or automatically through your device, such as your Media Access Control (MAC) address, computer type (Windows or Macintosh), screen resolution, operating system name and version, device manufacturer and model, language and Internet browser type and version. We use this information to ensure that the services function properly.
Your IP address is a number that is automatically assigned to the computer that you are using by your Internet Service Provider. An IP address may be identified and logged automatically in our server log files whenever a user accesses the Services, along with the time of the visit and the pages visited. Collecting IP addresses is standard practice and is done automatically by many websites, applications and other services. We use IP addresses for purposes such as calculating usage levels, diagnosing server problems and administering the Services. We may also derive your approximate location from your IP address.
We use Adobe Analytics and Adobe Experience Platform, which uses cookies and similar technologies to collect and analyze information about the use of the Services and report on activities and trends. This service may also collect information regarding the use of other websites, apps and online resources. You can learn about Adobe’s practices by going to https://www.adobe.com/privacy.html.