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  2. Privacy Policy
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3M Global Privacy Statement

Introduction

3M Company and its subsidiaries and affiliates (“3M,” “we,” “our” or “us”) respect your privacy. This 3M Global Privacy Statement (“Statement”) describes the Personal Data we may collect about you; how we use, disclose and otherwise process it; how we protect it; and the rights and choices you may have regarding your Personal Data. For more information about our processing and the rights that may be available to you in the jurisdiction where you reside, see “Additional Information for Residents of Certain Jurisdictions” below.

This Statement applies to the Personal Data (as defined below) that we process when you use this Website (“Website”), our mobile applications (“Apps”), and our other Websites and services or products that reference this Statement (collectively, our “Services”), and when you otherwise interact with us as described in more detail below. Unless you are in a jurisdiction where this is not permitted, your use of our Website, and any related dispute over privacy, is subject to our Terms of Use. Where required by applicable law, we will first obtain your consent before we collect, use, or disclose your Personal Data.

Throughout this Statement, we use the following defined terms:

  • "3M," "we," "us," or "our" refers to the entity that is responsible for the collection and use of your Personal Data (also referred to as a data controller), which is usually the entity that originally obtains your Personal Data. For a list of 3M data controllers and contact details by country, please click here: 3M Global Data Controllers List (PDF, 114 KB).
  • "Personal Data" refers to any information relating to an identified or identifiable individual, or as related terms, such as "personal information," are defined under applicable law.

Our Statement is organised in the following sections. For immediate access to a particular section, click on the title.

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Scope

  • This Statement applies to Personal Data that we may process through your interactions with us, including, but not limited to:

    • Through online activities and Services we offer (including our Websites, Apps, social media pages, webinars, digital events, and other online Services);
    • Through third-party sources, including ad networks;
    • When we provide Services directly to you and in other situations where you interact with us, including but not limited to interacting with us through our telephone customer service centers, through email, chat, SMS/text or social media direct messages, or by visiting our sites and offices or our events (e.g., tradeshows and conferences);
    • Related to activities we undertake in recruiting participants for participation in clinical trials or activities related to identifying and contracting with study investigators and their staff; 
    • When you interact with us in a professional capacity, for example, if you are a former, current, or prospective customer, distributor, or other business partner (collectively, “Business Partners”) as well as our suppliers and vendors; or
    • Anywhere this Statement is posted or referenced.

    Some of our Services are regulated by certain state, federal or local laws and may have specific privacy requirements ("Specific Privacy Notices").  When a Specific Privacy Notice exists, the content of the Specific Privacy Notice applies to your use of that specific product and/or service.

    Some of our Services are intended for use by our Business Partners, including our business customers (“3M B2B Services”).  When Business Partners purchase and use our 3M B2B Services, we may process your Personal Data at their direction and on their behalf, as a service provider, and your use of 3M B2B Services is administered by that company, our Business Partner.  In such cases, the privacy policies of the respective Business Partner apply to the processing of your Personal Data and not this Statement.  If you have any privacy questions related to your Personal Data processed related to a 3M B2B Service, you should contact the relevant Business Partner directly.

     

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Personal Data 3M Collects

  • When you interact with us, we may collect Personal Data such as:

    • Contact Information, including your name, company name, job title, address, e-mail address, and phone number.
    • Device Information, including browser and device type, IP address, operating system, device identifier, internet service provider, and other technical information about your device.
    • Website Interactions, including information about your interactions with our Website (including features on our site, like our chat feature and the video content that we make available), such as referring Websites, pages visited, links or buttons clicked, or information about your preferences, such as your preferred methods of communication and product types in which you are interested.
    • Transaction Data, including purchase and order history, as well as payment or other financial information if you make purchases, such as credit card or account information or tax identification number.
    • Communication Records, including call and video recordings and transcriptions, email exchanges, text details, and chat contents and logs from your communications with us, which we may keep as records of those conversations.
    • Log-in Information, including, if applicable, social media account information for login purposes.
    • Social Media Information, including social media name, profile, and any direct messages exchanged with us.
    • Clinical Trial Information, including potentially health or biometric information, relating to your use of a 3M product in the context of a clinical trial or study involving that product.
    • Health and Safety Information, including information about general health information or adverse events or other health and safety incidents involving the use of 3M products.
    • Other information you voluntarily provide to 3M, such as your gender, age, date of birth, nationality, professional associations and registration numbers, demographics, and other information about how you use our Services.
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How 3M Collects Your Personal Data

When you interact with us, we may collect Personal Data directly from you, automatically from your browser or device, and from other sources such as our Business Partners and other third parties.

  • Personal Data Collected Directly from You

    We collect Personal Data you choose to provide to us on our Website, through our Apps, or when you contact us by phone or email. For example, we may collect Personal Data from you when you:

    • Purchase products and Services from us, including through our Website or when you download our Apps;
    • Register or create an account with us;
    • Engage with us in response to our marketing activities, including by expressing an interest in our Services through a web form, participating in a promotion or survey, attending our marketing events, or subscribing to our email updates and newsletters;
    • Contact customer service or make use of our customer support tools;
    • Connect with, link to, or "share" our Website via social networking sites; or
    • Provide ratings, reviews, or feedback for our Services.

    If you provide us with any Personal Data relating to a third party, you represent that you have the authority to do so and to permit us to use the information in accordance with this Statement.

  • Personal Data Collected through Automated Means

    We automatically collect information from you when you interact with us and use our Services, such as:

    • Device and browser information, such as device type, browser type, IP address, operating system, device identifier, and Internet service provider, as well as other information such as general location information, domain name, page views, a date/time stamp, referring and exiting URLs, language, clickstream data and similar device and usage data.
    • Information about how you interact with us, such as your usage of 3M Websites and Apps and how you interact with our digital advertisements and promotions, such as video and other content viewed or downloaded and information about your viewing, features used, links clicked, keystrokes and mouse clicks, 3M promotional emails opened, and dates and times of interactions.

    Our Business Partners and other third parties may also use these technologies to collect information about your online activities. For more information, see the section below on Cookies and Similar Automated Data Collection Technologies.

     

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Information from Business Partners and other Third Parties

  • 3M may collect, use, or supplement the Personal Data we have about you with information obtained from other publicly or commercially available sources, such as our Business Partners, suppliers, vendors, and other third-party sources (e.g., public databases and social media platforms). 

    For example, we may use such third-party information to confirm contact or financial information, or to better understand your interests by associating demographic information with the information you have provided.

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How 3M Uses Your Personal Data

We use your Personal Data to:

  • Develop and manage our relationships with you and our Business Partners.

    This may include:

    • Delivering services or carrying out transactions that you or our Business Partners have requested;
    • Providing information about 3M products, services, transactions, and advertisements, that may be of interest to you;
    • Providing you and our Business Partners a more consistent experience in interacting with 3M, including by learning more about you and how you use and interact with 3M’s Services; and
    • Planning, managing, and performing under our contractual relationships with you, our Business Partners, vendors and suppliers.

  • Communicate with you or your company.

    This may include:

    • Informing You of 3M’s products, services, events, programs, competitions and promotional activities that may be of interest to you or your company; 
    • Providing personalised products, communications and targeted advertising as well as product recommendations to you,
    • Providing information about relevant 3M products, services, and transactions, including, for example, pricing information, technical data, invoice, shipping, or production information, warranty or recall information, or information about product or service improvements; 
    • Responding to questions or inquiries that you make, including customer service requests; and 
    • Inviting you to participate in, or informing you of the results of, customer satisfaction or market research surveys.

  • Provide and improve our Services.

    This may include:

    • Customising them to your preferences or interests, making them more compatible with your technology, or otherwise making them easier to use;
    • Maintaining the security of and otherwise protecting them; 
    • Developing new 3M services, as well as conducting trials and studies of new products using human subjects; and
    • Performing data analytics.

  • Address legal issues.

    This may include:

    • Complying with our obligations to retain certain business records for minimum retention periods;
    • Establishing, exercising, or defending legal claims;
    • Complying with laws, regulations, court orders, or other legal process;
    • Detecting, preventing, and responding to fraud, intellectual property infringement, violation of our contracts or agreements, adverse events and other health and safety incidents involving our products, violations of law, or other misuse of 3M’s Services; and
    • Protecting 3M’s rights or property, or your or others’ health, safety, welfare, rights, or property.

    3M may also use your Personal Data for other uses consistent with the context in which the information was collected or with your consent.

    3M may anonymise, aggregate or de-identify any of the information we collect from you and, where permitted by applicable law, use it for any purpose, including for research, product-development, and service and product quality review purposes.  Such information will not identify you individually, and we will maintain and use the information in deidentified form and will not attempt to reidentify the information.

     

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How 3M Discloses Your Personal Data

  • We may disclose your Personal Data to the following recipients and for the purposes described below.  In each case, we will take appropriate steps (including obtaining your consent where required by applicable law) to protect your Personal Data.

    3M Affiliates.  Our 3M affiliates will use your Personal Data in a manner consistent with this Statement, any applicable Specific Privacy Notices, and all applicable laws.

    Service Providers.  We may disclose your Personal Data to contractors, service providers and other vendors we engage to perform support services for us, such as hosting providers, payment processors, customer service agencies, analytics service providers and ad companies.

    Business Partners.  We may disclose your Personal Data with third parties who partner with us to support our products, services and marketing efforts to our customers; to our partners who provide us with analytics services (for example, to better understand our customers); and to our authorised partners and service providers.  

    In connection with business transfers.  We may disclose your Personal Data with third parties (including potential or prospective buyers, sellers, lenders and their respective affiliates, agents, advisers and representatives) in connection with the actual or contemplated sale, purchase, merger, reorganisation, liquidation, dissolution or other disposal of assets or interests of 3M or a 3M business unit. 

    With your consent.  We may disclose your Personal Data with your permission or at your request.

    To comply with law or to protect.  We may disclose your Personal Data with third parties when we have a good faith belief that disclosure is necessary:

    • to comply with a law, regulation, court order, or other legal process;
    • to detect, prevent, and respond to fraud, intellectual property infringement, violation of our contracts or agreements, violation of law, or other misuse of 3M services;
    • to protect the health, safety, welfare, rights, or property of you, our customers, the public, 3M, or others; or
    • under similar circumstances.

    In the aggregate / de-identified.  To the extent permitted by applicable law, 3M may share anonymised, aggregated or de-identified information internally and with third parties for any purpose. Such information will not identify you individually.

  • Analytics and Advertising.

    3M uses third-party analytics services to better understand how users engage with 3M Internet Sites and Apps, including services provided by Google and Adobe. These third-party analytics companies may collect usage data (using cookies, pixels and similar tools) about our Services in order to provide us with reports and metrics that help us to evaluate usage of our Services and improve performance and user experiences. Please use the following links for more information about how Google and Adobe collect and use data when you visit their partners' websites or apps:

    www.google.com/policies/privacy/partners/

    http://www.adobe.com/privacy/marketing-cloud.html

    3M also uses third-party advertising services to provide advertisements for 3M products or services that may be of interest to you when you visit websites or other online services.

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Cookies and Similar Automated Data Collection Technologies

  • Cookies.

    We and our service providers and Business Partners may collect information about you by using cookies, web beacons, pixel tags, session replay and other similar automated data collection tracking technologies (collectively, "Cookies").  A Cookie is a bit of data that we can send to your browser when you link to our Website or Apps. 

    Subject to local law requirements, we may also collect your electronic identification data (obtained by means of cookies, pixel tags, or similar technologies), including personal data about how you access, use and interact with our Services. This may include information such as your IP address, MAC address, mobile device identifier (IDFA or GAID), cookie ID, cookie content, browser type, browsing and click behavior and other activities, purchase information, domain name, referrer-URL, access dates and times, hardware and software information and settings, information about the device you use (e.g., device ID, device type), operating system, language, and approximate location. We also may use pixels in HTML emails to understand if you read the emails we send to you.
     
    Subject to your prior consent (to the extent required), we and our third-party providers use cookies, clear GIFs/pixel tags, JavaScript, local/session storage, log files, and other mechanisms to automatically collect and record information about your browsing activities, and use of the Services. We may combine this “activity information” with other personal data that we collect about you.
     
    Generally, we use this activity information to understand how our Services are used, track bugs and errors, improve our Services, verify account credentials, allow logins, track sessions, prevent fraud, and protect our Services, as well as for targeted marketing and advertising purposes, to personalise content and for analytics purposes.
     
    For more information on the Cookies we use or your choices related to them, please visit our Cookie Notice.

  • Do Not Track Browser Settings.

    Certain web browsers and other programs may transmit “opt-out” signals, such as the Global Privacy Control (or GPC) signal (“GPC Signal”), to websites with which the browser communicates.  For users that access our Websites from U.S. states, we will recognise and apply the GPC Signal to deactivate all of the cookies for that Website, except for cookies that are necessary for the Website to operate (“Strictly Necessary Cookies”).  You can determine if your browser GPC Signal has been recognised by clicking on the “Your Privacy Choices” link in the footer of the Website, where you will see the message “You have opted-out” under Manage Preferences.  

    Note that if you come back to our Websites from a different device or use a different browser on the same device, you will need to enable GPC or set your cookie preferences for each browser and device you use to access our Websites and Services.  More information about GPC is available at: https://globalprivacycontrol.org/.

     

  • Mobile Device Settings.

    You may use mobile device settings to limit mobile tracking technologies and associated activities.  For instance, Android users can visit Google settings > Ads > Reset advertising ID to adjust or reset the advertising identifiers on their mobile device in the device settings.  Apple users can go to settings > Privacy & Security > Tracking, and turn off “tracking” to limit apps from tracking their activities across apps and websites for targeted advertising.

     

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Your Rights

Subject to certain conditions and exceptions, and depending on the applicable laws in your jurisdiction, you may have the right to make the following requests with respect to your Personal Data, free of charge.  We will not discriminate against you for exercising any of your rights.

  • Access / Copy:

    You may request (i) to access your Personal Data, including the specific pieces of your Personal Data that we maintain, and (ii) that we provide your information in a portable format to you or your authorised representative (i.e., the right to data portability).

  • Know:

    You may request to know certain information about the Personal Data that we process about you, including the:

    • Purposes for our collection, use, disclosure and other processing of Personal Data;
    • Categories and specific pieces of Personal Data collected (and under CCPA, the categories ‘sold’ to or ‘shared’ with third parties);
    • Categories of sources from which the Personal Data is collected;
    • Business and/or commercial purpose for collecting your Personal Data;
    • The categories of third parties to whom we disclose Personal Data (and under CCPA, the categories of third parties to whom we ‘sell’ or ‘share’ Personal Data);
    • Categories of Personal Data that we have disclosed to third parties for a business purpose; and
    • The consequences of not granting consent, or withdrawing consent, to our processing of your Personal Data.

  • Correct:

    You may request correction of your Personal Data if it is inaccurate or incomplete.

  • Delete:

    You may request deletion of your Personal Data (i.e., the “right to be forgotten”).

  • Object or Restrict:

    You may object to or restrict our processing of your Personal Data, including to:

    • The “sale” (as such term is defined under applicable law, including the CCPA) of your Personal Data;
    • The processing your Personal Data for direct marketing or targeted advertising purposes (or in California, the right to opt out of “sharing,” as defined under the CCPA);
    • The processing of your Personal Data on a ‘legitimate interest’ basis under the GDPR;
    • The use of profiling or automated decision-making which might significantly affect you;
    • Restrict (or limit) our use or disclosure of your sensitive Personal Data; and
    • If we are processing your Personal Data based on your consent, to withdraw your consent at any time. Withdrawing your consent will not affect the lawfulness of our processing before your withdrawal.

  • De-register an account:

    You may request de-registration of any account you maintain with us, if applicable.

  • Exercising Your Rights

    You or (where permitted by applicable law) your authorised agent may exercise your rights by completing our request form. Before responding to your request, we will first take steps to verify your request by matching the Personal Data you provide to us with the information we have in our records.  Your request must provide sufficient information for us to reasonably verify you are the person about whom we collected Personal Data or an authorised representative (e.g., by completing all required fields on our request form. We may, after receiving your request, require additional information from you (or your authorised agent) to honor your request and verify your identity. For more information on how you can exercise the rights available to you in certain jurisdictions, see “Additional Information for Residents of Certain Jurisdictions” below.

    Please note that for Personal Data that we process on behalf of a Business Partner, in our capacity as a processor or service provider, we will provide reasonable assistance to that Business Partner as necessary to enable them to respond to your requests to exercise your privacy rights.  You should submit your request directly to the relevant Business Partner. 

  • Appeals 

    In some jurisdictions, you have the right to approach us or the competent data protection authority or equivalent regulatory body with requests or complaints in the jurisdiction(s) in which you reside, including with respect to cross-border transfers of your data. 

    If we deny your request to exercise a privacy right, you may request the right to appeal the decision to 3M by contacting us or by submitting your appeal through our request form. 

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  • Cross-Border Transfers

    3M operates in many countries. Your Personal Data may be transferred across international borders to other 3M affiliates, or to other companies performing support functions on our behalf (as described in this Statement), located outside of the country where you live. Many of these transfers are to the United States, Costa Rica, Philippines and Poland. Regardless of where your Personal Data is processed, we ensure that the recipient offers an adequate level of protection and security, for instance by entering into the appropriate agreements and, if required, standard contractual clauses or an alternative mechanism for the transfer of data as approved by the European Commission or in accordance with applicable laws and regulations.

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  • Protecting Personal Data

    3M maintains appropriate technical, physical and organisational measures designed to protect the confidentiality, security, and integrity of your Personal Data.  Data protection measures include, but are not limited to, adoption of industry standard encryption tools and access controls.

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  • Retention of Your Personal Data

    We will retain your Personal Data for as long as reasonably necessary or permitted in light of the purposes for which it was collected, and as described in this Statement or as otherwise disclosed to you at the time of collection.  How long we keep your Personal Data varies and may depend on criteria that include:

    • The date of your last interaction with us;
    • Whether retention is necessary or advisable due to applicable statutes of limitations, litigation, or other legal, regulatory, accounting or reporting obligations; or
    • Any relevant retention requirements under applicable laws or in agreements with you or others.

    If Personal Data is either no longer necessary or relevant for the purposes for which it was collected, or no longer required to be retained by applicable laws, then we will take reasonable steps to have it deleted, destroyed, erased, or, if permitted by applicable law, aggregated, made anonymous, or de-identified.
     
    If you have questions about our retention policies, please contact us at privacy_office@mmm.com.

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  • Children

    3M’s Websites and Apps are not directed to children under the age of sixteen (16), and we do not knowingly collect Personal Data from anyone under 16.  If you believe we have unintentionally collected such information, please notify us as set out in the Questions about this Statement section below.

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  • Questions about this Statement

    If you have any questions about this Statement or our use of your Personal Data, please email us at privacy_office@mmm.com or write to us at:

    3M Company
    Privacy Office
    3M Center, 220-9E-01
    St. Paul, MN 55144-1000

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  • Changes to this Statement

    We reserve the right to modify this Statement at any time.  Where required by applicable law, we will seek your consent to any material changes.  Any modifications will apply only to the Personal Data we collect after publication of the revised Statement. 

    You can determine when this Statement was last revised by referring to the Last Revised date set forth below.  

    Last Revised: October 16, 2024

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Additional Information for Residents in Certain Jurisdictions

Supplemental Information for Residents of EEA, UK and Switzerland

  • This supplemental notice is for users in the European Economic Area, United Kingdom, and Switzerland and should be read in conjunction with our Global Website Privacy Statement, which includes additional important information for users in these jurisdictions.

  • Data controller and contact information

    The controller for Personal Data collected under this Statement is the relevant 3M entity in your country, and, as applicable, 3M Company, Privacy Office, 3M Center, Bldg. 220-9E-01, St. Paul, MN 55144-1000. For a list of 3M data controllers and contact details by country, please click here: 3M Global Data Controllers List (PDF, 114 KB).

    You can reach 3M’s Data Protection Office at: privacy_office@mmm.com

    If you are using 3M B2B Services administered by a company that company may be the controller for Personal Data collected by those 3M B2B Services, and 3M will be a ‘data processor’ only. In those scenarios, that company will be the controller responsible for the collection and use of your Personal Data, and for fulfilling your rights as a data subject. Please contact your company for more information.

  • 3M’s lawful basis for processing your Personal Data

    The lawful basis for 3M’s processing of your Personal Data will depend on the purposes of the processing.

    We use the Personal Data we collect as necessary for the performance of a contract. This includes:

    • Establishing your account;
    • Validating your access to our Services;
    • Processing your purchase orders, including online purchase orders;
    • Registering you as the user of, providing you with the functionality associated with, a consumer product;
    • Sharing Personal Data within the 3M group, as well as with service providers and other third parties;
    • Providing customer service; and
    • Sending you administrative or transactional communications.

    We also use the Personal Data we collect when we have legitimate interests in doing so, as long as our legitimate interests are compatible with your rights and expectations of privacy. This includes in:

  • We may use your Personal Data as needed to comply with legal obligations, including:

    • Providing your Personal Data to law enforcement agencies and other governmental bodies when required by applicable laws;
    • Retaining business records required to be retained by applicable laws;
    • Registering and reporting adverse events and other health and safety incidents;
    • Enforcing our rights and those of others; and
    • Fraud prevention.

    Finally, we may use Personal Data collected as described in this Statement with your "opt-in" consent where required by law. If you no longer want us to use your Personal Data, for example, to process Personal Data collected through the use of non-essential cookies or similar technologies, or to send you newsletters or directly market our Services, you can opt out at any time by following the instructions in any communication you receive from us. If you opt out, it will not affect the lawfulness of our processing based on your consent before your withdrawal.

  • 3M’s lawful basis for processing your Sensitive Personal Data

    Sensitive Personal Data (also known as "Special Categories of Personal Data") is information related to your race or ethnic origin, political opinions, religion or other beliefs, health, genetic or biometric data, sex life or sexual orientation, criminal background, or trade union membership.

    3M only processes Sensitive Personal Data:

    • With your explicit consent;
    • To protect your vital interests or those of another person;
    • For the establishment, exercise, or defense of legal claims; or
    • To the extent permitted or required by applicable law.

    You are not generally required to provide us with any Sensitive Personal Data when using our Website. If your Sensitive Personal Data is required, we will inform you at the time of collection and let you know whether your decision would prevent you from using our Website or the requested Service.

  • International transfers of your Personal Data

    For information about the transfer and storage of your Personal Data outside of the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom or Switzerland, please see above, under “Cross-Border Transfers.” You may request more information regarding our international data transfer mechanisms, and exercise your right to obtain a copy of those mechanisms, by contacting us at the details set forth in this Statement.

  • Exercising your individual rights

    As discussed above, under “Your Rights,” you have certain rights with respect to your Personal Data which you can exercise by completing this request form. We will respond to your request in accordance with applicable law. With respect to your right to complain to your local data protection supervisory authority:

    If you are located in France, you also have the right to set out instructions (general or specific) about what happens to your Personal Data after your death.

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Supplemental Information for Residents in Other Jurisdictions

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