International Privacy Policy

LAST UPDATED: June 10, 2024

The Metropolitan Opera Association, Inc. (“we” or “us”) wants you to be familiar with how we collect, use, and disclose information. This Privacy Policy describes our practices in connection with information that we collect:

  • through metopera.org, metoperashop.org, and the other websites operated by us from which you are accessing this Privacy Policy (the “Websites”),
  • through the software applications made available by us for use on or through computers and mobile devices (the “Apps”) and in connection with which you are accessing this Privacy Policy,
  • through our social media pages and apps located at: 
  • through the Met Opera on Demand subscription streaming service, available through the metopera.org website and applications that may be available on certain TVs, mobile devices, and other platforms, devices, and/or hardware, and
  • through HTML-formatted email messages that we send to you that link to this Privacy Policy

Collectively, we refer to the Websites, Apps, Social Media Pages, Met Opera on Demand, and email messages as the “Services.”

Personal Information

“Personal Information” is information that identifies you as an individual or relates to an identifiable individual, such as:

  • Name
  • Postal address
  • Telephone number
  • Email address
  • Credit or debit card number

COLLECTION OF PERSONAL INFORMATION

We and our service providers collect Personal Information in a variety of ways, including: 

  • Through the Services 
    We collect Personal Information through the Services, such as when you sign up for a newsletter, register an account to access the Services, or make a purchase.
  • Offline 
    We collect Personal Information from you offline, such as when you visit our venues, attend one of our concerts or other events, place a ticket order over the phone, or contact customer service.
  • From Other Sources 
    We receive your Personal Information from other sources, for example:
    - entities that license our location for an event, such as a concert,
    - publicly available databases, and
    - joint marketing partners.

We need to collect Personal Information in order to provide the requested Services to you.  If you do not provide the information requested, we may not be able to provide the Services.  If you disclose any Personal Information relating to other people to us or to our service providers in connection with the Services, you represent that you have the authority to do so and to permit us to use the information in accordance with this Privacy Policy.

USE OF PERSONAL INFORMATION

We and our service providers use Personal Information for legitimate business purposes including:   

  • Providing the functionality of the Services and fulfilling your requests.
    - To provide the Services’ functionality to you, such as arranging access to your account, offering performance selection tools, and providing related customer service.
    - To respond to your inquiries and fulfill your requests, such as when you send us questions, suggestions, compliments or complaints, or request a brochure or other information.
    - To complete your transactions and provide you with related customer and/or Patron service.
    - To send administrative information to you, such as changes to our terms, conditions, and policies.
    - To allow you to send messages to another person if you choose to do so.

    We will engage in these activities to manage our contractual relationship with you and/or to comply with a legal obligation.
  • Providing you with our newsletter and other marketing and/or fundraising materials and facilitating social sharing.
    - To send you marketing and/or fundraising related emails, with information about our organization and our products and services. 
    - To facilitate social sharing functionality that you choose to use.

    We will engage in this activity with your consent or where we have a legitimate interest.
  • Analysis of Personal Information for business reporting and providing personalized services and communications.
    - To analyze or predict our users’ preferences in order to prepare aggregated trend reports on how our digital content is used, so we can improve our Services.
    - To better understand you, so that we can personalize our interactions with you and provide you with marketing, fundraising or other information and/or offers tailored to you.
    - To better understand your preferences so that we can deliver content via our Services that we believe will be relevant and interesting to you.

    We will provide personalized services, information and/or offers based on our legitimate interests, and with your consent to the extent required by applicable law.
  • Allowing you to participate in sweepstakes, contests, or other promotions.
    - We may offer you the opportunity to participate in a sweepstakes, contest, or other promotion.
    - Some of these promotions have additional rules containing information about how we will use and disclose your Personal Information.

    We will engage in these activities to manage our contractual relationship with you.
  • Aggregating and/or anonymizing Personal Information.
    - We may aggregate and/or anonymize Personal Information so that it will no longer be considered Personal Information.  We do so to generate other data for our use, which we may use and disclose for any purpose, as it no longer identifies you or any other individual.
  • Accomplishing our business purposes.
    - For data analysis, for example, to improve the efficiency of our Services;
    - For audits, to verify that our internal processes function as intended and are compliant with legal, regulatory, and/or contractual requirements;
    - For fraud and security monitoring purposes, for example, to detect and prevent cyberattacks or attempts to commit identity theft;
    - For developing new products and services;
    - For enhancing, improving, or modifying our current products and services;
    - For identifying usage trends, for example, understanding which parts of our Services are of most interest to users;
    - For determining the effectiveness of our promotional and fundraising campaigns, so that we can adapt our campaigns to the needs and interests of our customers and Patrons; and
    - For operating and expanding our business activities, for example, understanding which parts of our Services are of most interest to our users so we can focus our energies on meeting our users’ interests. 

    We engage in these activities to manage our contractual relationship with you, to comply with a legal obligation, and/or based on our legitimate interest.

DISCLOSURE OF PERSONAL INFORMATION  

We disclose Personal Information:   

  • To our third-party service providers, to facilitate services they provide to us.
    - These can include providers of services such as website hosting, data analysis, payment processing, order fulfillment, information technology and related infrastructure provision, customer service, email delivery, auditing, and other services.
  • To third parties, to permit them to send you marketing, and/or fundraising communications, consistent with your choices. 
    - These parties include the American Ballet Theatre.
  • To third-party sponsors of sweepstakes, contests, and similar promotions.
  • By using the Services, you may elect to disclose Personal Information.
    - You may choose to disclose your Personal Information on message boards, chat, profile pages, blogs, and other services to which you are able to post information and content (including, without limitation, our Social Media Pages).  Please note that any information you post or disclose through these services may be available to other users and the general public.

OTHER USES AND DISCLOSURES

We also use and disclose your Personal Information as necessary or appropriate, especially when we have a legal obligation or legitimate interest to do so:

  • To comply with applicable law and regulations.
    - This can include laws outside your country of residence.
  • To cooperate with public and government authorities.
    - To respond to a request or to provide information we believe is important.
    - These can include authorities outside your country of residence.
  • To cooperate with law enforcement.
    - For example, when we respond to law enforcement requests and orders or provide information we believe is important.
  • For other legal reasons.
    - To enforce our terms and conditions; and
    - To protect our rights, privacy, safety, or property, and/or that of our affiliates, you, or others.
  • In connection with a sale or business transaction.
    - We have a legitimate interest in disclosing or transferring your Personal Information to a third party in connection with any reorganization, merger, joint venture, assignment, transfer, or other disposition of all or any portion of our business or assets (including in connection with any bankruptcy or similar proceedings).

Other Information

“Other Information” is any information that does not reveal your specific identity or does not directly relate to an identifiable individual.

If we are required to treat Other Information as Personal Information under applicable law, then we may use and disclose it for the purposes for which we use and disclose Personal Information as detailed in this Privacy Policy.

COLLECTION OF OTHER INFORMATION

We and our service providers may collect Other Information in a variety of ways, including: 

  • Through your browser or device: 
    - Certain information is collected by most browsers or automatically through your device, such as your Media Access Control (MAC) address, computer type (Windows or Mac), screen resolution, operating system name and version, device manufacturer and model, language, Internet browser type and version, and the name and version of the Services (such as the App) you are using.  We use this information to ensure that the Services function properly. 
  • Through your use of the App 
    - When you download and use the App, we and our service providers may track and collect App usage data, such as the date and time the App on your device accesses our servers and what information and files have been downloaded to the App based on your device number.
  • Through the Met Opera on Demand service
    - We collect usage information when you access the video and audio content available to stream on Met Opera on Demand, whether through the Met website or any available Met Opera on Demand Service.  The information collected includes the date and time of access, the specific content selected for playback, the number of tracks played, and the app, device, and/or platform used to access the service and its content.  We may use your usage information for a variety of purposes, including to assess, enhance, or otherwise improve the service or our activities in connection with it, for analytics, or for targeted advertising or other marketing purposes.
  • Using cookies
    - Cookies are pieces of information stored directly on the computer that you are using.  Cookies allow us to collect information such as browser type, time spent on the Services, pages visited, language preferences, and other traffic data.  We and our service providers use the information for security purposes, to facilitate navigation, to display information more effectively, and to personalize your experience.  We also gather statistical information about use of the Services in order to continually improve their design and functionality, understand how they are used, and assist us with resolving questions regarding them.  Cookies further allow us to select which of our advertisements or offers are most likely to appeal to you and display them while you are on the Services or reach out to you directly with personalized marketing communications.  We may also use cookies or other technologies in online advertising to track responses to our ads.   We do not currently respond to browser do-not-track signals.  If you do not want information collected through the use of cookies, most browsers allow you to automatically decline cookies or be given the choice of declining or accepting a particular cookie (or cookies) from a particular website.  You may also wish to refer to http://www.allaboutcookies.org/manage-cookies/index.html.  If, however, you do not accept cookies, you may experience some inconvenience in your use of the Services.  For example, you must have cookies turned on in order for the Websites to remember the items you have placed in your shopping cart. You also may not receive advertising or other offers from us that are relevant to your interests and needs.   
  • Using pixel tags and other similar technologies 
    - Pixel tags (also known as web beacons and clear GIFs) and other similar technologies may be used to, among other things, track the actions of users of the Services (including email recipients), measure the success of our marketing campaigns, and compile statistics about usage of the Services and response rates. 
    - We use Google Analytics, which uses cookies and similar technologies to collect and analyze information about 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 Google’s practices by going to www.google.com/policies/privacy/‌partners/, and opt out of them by downloading the Google Analytics opt-out browser add-on, available at https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout. 
  • IP Address 
    - Your IP address is automatically assigned to your computer 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 page(s) that were 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.

USES AND DISCLOSURES OF OTHER INFORMATION

We may use and disclose Other Information for any purpose, except where we are required to do otherwise under applicable law.  In some instances, we may combine Other Information with Personal Information. If we do, we will treat the combined information as Personal Information as long as it is combined.

Our Advertising 

We use third-party advertising companies to serve advertisements regarding goods and services that may be of interest to you when you access and use the Services and other websites or online services.

  • You may receive advertisements based on information relating to your access to and use of the Services and other websites or online services on any of your devices, as well as based on information received from third parties.  These companies place or recognize a unique cookie on your browser (including through the use of pixel tags).  They may also use these technologies, along with information they collect about your online use, to recognize you across the devices you use, such as a mobile phone and a laptop.  If you would like more information about this practice, and to learn how to opt out of it in desktop and mobile browsers on the particular device on which you are accessing this Privacy Policy, please visit http://optout.aboutads.info/#/ and http://optout.networkadvertising.org/#/.  You may download the AppChoices app at www.aboutads.info/appchoices to opt out in mobile apps.

Security 

We seek to use reasonable organizational, technical, and administrative measures to protect Personal Information within our organization.  Unfortunately, no data transmission or storage system can be guaranteed to be 100% secure.  If you have reason to believe that your interaction with us is no longer secure, please immediately notify us in accordance with the “Contacting Us” section below.

Choices and Access 

Your choices regarding our use and disclosure of your Personal Information

We give you choices regarding our use and disclosure of your Personal Information for marketing purposes.  You may opt-out from: 

  • Receiving email marketing from us:  You may opt out of receiving marketing e-mail from us by following the instructions contained in each such e-mail message.  You may also change your e-mail preferences through the My Account section of the Website. 
  • Receiving telemarketing calls from us:  You may opt out of receiving telemarketing calls from us using the contact information in the section entitled “Contacting Us,” below. 
  • Our sharing of your Personal Information with our affiliate for its direct marketing purposes:  If you prefer that we discontinue sharing your Personal Information on a going-forward basis with the Metropolitan Opera Guild for its direct marketing purposes, please send your request to us at the contact information in the section entitled “Contacting Us,” below.
  • Our sharing of your Personal Information with unaffiliated third parties for their direct marketing purposes:  If you prefer that we discontinue sharing your Personal Information on a going-forward basis with unaffiliated third parties for their direct marketing purposes, please send your request to us at the contact information in the section entitled “Contacting Us,” below.

We will try to comply with your request(s) as soon as reasonably practicable.  Please note that if you opt-out of receiving marketing-related emails from us, we may still send you important administrative messages, from which you cannot opt-out.

How you can access, change, or delete your Personal Information 

If you would like to request to access, correct, update, suppress, restrict, or delete Personal Information that you have previously provided to us, or if you would like to request to receive a copy of your Personal Information for purposes of transmitting it to another company (to the extent this right to data portability is provided to you by applicable law), you may do so using the contact information in the section entitled “Contacting Us,” below. We will respond to your request consistent with applicable law.

In your request, please make clear what Personal Information you would like to have changed, whether you would like to have your Personal Information suppressed from our database, or otherwise let us know what limitations you would like to put on our use of your Personal Information.  For your protection, we may only implement requests with respect to the Personal Information associated with the particular email address that you use to send us your request, and we may need to verify your identity before implementing your request.  We will try to comply with your request as soon as reasonably practicable. 

Please note that we may need to retain certain information for recordkeeping purposes and/or to complete any transactions that you began prior to requesting a change or deletion (e.g., when you make a purchase, you may not be able to change or delete the Personal Information provided until after the completion of the transaction). 

Retention Period

We retain Personal Information for as long as needed or permitted in light of the purpose(s) for which it was obtained and consistent with applicable law. 

The criteria used to determine our retention periods include: 

  • The length of time we have an ongoing relationship with you and provide the Services to you (for example, for as long as you have an account with us or keep using the Services);
  • Whether there is a legal obligation to which we are subject (for example, certain laws require us to keep records of your transactions for a certain period of time before we can delete them); or
  • Whether retention is advisable in light of our legal position (such as in regard to applicable statutes of limitations, litigation, or regulatory investigations). 

Third Party Services

This Privacy Policy does not address, and we are not responsible for, the privacy, information, or other practices of any third parties, including any third party operating any website or service to which the Services link.  The inclusion of a link on the Services does not imply endorsement of the linked site or service by us or by our affiliates.

In addition, we are not responsible for the information collection, use, disclosure, or security policies or practices of other organizations, such as Facebook, Apple, Google, Microsoft, RIM, or any other app developer, app provider, social media platform provider, operating system provider, wireless service provider, or device manufacturer, including with respect to any Personal Information you disclose to other organizations through or in connection with the Apps or our Social Media Pages.

The Services may provide functionality allowing you to make payments to us using third-party payment services with which you have created your own account.  When you use such a service to make a payment to us, your Personal Information will be collected by such third party and not by us, and your Personal Information will be subject to the third party’s privacy policy, rather than this Privacy Policy.  We have no control over, and are not responsible for, this third party’s collection, use, and disclosure of your Personal Information.

Use of Services by Minors

The Services are not directed to individuals under the age of sixteen (16), and we do not knowingly collect Personal Information from individuals under 16.  

Jurisdiction and Cross-Border Transfer

Your Personal Information may be stored and processed in any country where we have facilities or in which we engage service providers, and, by using the Services, you understand that your information will be transferred to countries outside of your country of residence, including the United States, which may have data protection rules that are different from those of your country.  In certain circumstances, courts, law enforcement agencies, regulatory agencies, or security authorities in those other countries may be entitled to access your Personal Information.

Sensitive Information

We ask that you not send us, and you not disclose, any sensitive Personal Information (e.g., social security numbers, information related to racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religion or other beliefs, health, biometrics or genetic characteristics, or criminal background) on or through the Services or otherwise to us. 

Third-Party Payment Service

We may use a third-party payment service to process payments made through the Services.  If you wish to make a payment through the Services, your Personal Information will be collected by such third party and not by us, and will be subject to the third party’s privacy policy, rather than this Privacy Policy.  We have no control over, and are not responsible for, this third party’s collection, use, and disclosure of your Personal Information.

Updates to the Privacy Policy

The “Last Updated” legend at the top of this Privacy Policy indicates when this Privacy Policy was last revised.  Any changes will become effective when we post the revised Privacy Policy on the Services. 

Contacting Us

The Metropolitan Opera Association, Inc., located at Lincoln Center, New York, New York 10023, is the organization responsible for collection, use, and disclosure of your Personal Information under this Privacy Policy.   

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, please contact us at MetropolitanOpera@metopera.org or:

Marketing Department
The Metropolitan Opera Association, Inc.
Lincoln Center
New York, NY 10023
United States 

Because email communications are not always secure, please do not include credit card or other sensitive information in your emails to us.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION FOR EEA/UK/SWISS RESIDENTS

Pursuant to Article 27 of the UK GDPR, Metropolitan Opera Association, Inc. has appointed EDPO UK Ltd as its UK GDPR representative in the UK. You can contact EDPO UK regarding matters pertaining to the UK GDPR:

Pursuant to Article 27 of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), Metropolitan Opera Association, Inc. has appointed European Data Protection Office (EDPO) as its GDPR Representative in the EU. You can contact EDPO regarding matters pertaining to the GDPR:

You may lodge a complaint with a data protection authority for your country or region where you have your habitual residence or place of work or where an alleged infringement of applicable data protection law occurs.  A list of EEA data protection authorities is available at https://ec.europa.eu/newsroom/article29/items/612080, and the UK Information Commissioner’s Office’s contact details can be found https://ico.org.uk/global/contact-us/.  The Swiss authority is the FDIC, at www.edoeb.admin.ch.