Privacy Policy

Personal Information You Provide

• Account Information: Name, email address, phone number, professional title, organization, and password when you create an account through Memberstack or LinkedIn authentication
• Profile Information: Professional background, education, certifications, bio, profile photo, and other information you choose to include in your public or private profile
• Payment Information: Billing address and payment details processed through secure third-party payment processors
• Communication Data: Messages, forum posts, comments, emails, and other communications you send through our platforms
• Educational Records: Course progress, certification status, exam results, and learning achievements
• Event Registration: Information provided when registering for webinars, conferences, or training events

LinkedIn Integration Data

When you authenticate using LinkedIn, we may collect:

• Basic profile information (name, email, profile picture)
• Professional information (current position, company, industry)
• Educational background and professional experience
• LinkedIn profile URL and connection information (with your consent)

Automatically Collected Information

• Usage Data: Pages visited, time spent, features used, and interaction patterns
• Device Information: IP address, browser type, operating system, device identifiers
• Cookies and Tracking: Web cookies, pixel tags, and similar technologies for functionality and analytics
• Forum Activity: Posts, comments, reactions, and engagement metrics in our community forums

Service Delivery

• Provide access to educational content, certifications, and training programs
• Manage your account, membership, and subscription services
• Process payments and maintain billing records
• Deliver customer support and respond to inquiries
• Facilitate forum discussions and community engagement

Communication and Marketing

• Send course notifications, certification updates, and educational content
• Deliver marketing communications about new programs and services (with your consent)
• Provide personalized recommendations based on your interests and activity
• Send newsletters, event invitations, and industry updates
• Conduct surveys and gather feedback to improve our services

Platform Improvement

• Analyze usage patterns to enhance user experience and platform functionality
• Develop new features and improve existing services
• Conduct research and analytics for educational effectiveness
• Maintain security and prevent fraudulent activity

Service Providers We Use

• Memberstack: User authentication, membership management, and subscription processing
• LinkedIn: Social authentication and professional profile integration
• Forum Platforms: Community discussion features, including SuperSparks and other third-party forum technologies
• Email Service Providers: Marketing communications, transactional emails, and newsletter delivery
• Analytics Services: Website analytics, user behavior tracking, and performance monitoring
• Payment Processors: Secure payment processing and billing management
• Cloud Storage: Data hosting, backup, and content delivery services

Data Sharing with Third Parties

We may share your information with third parties in the following circumstances:

• Service Integration: Data necessary for third-party platforms to provide integrated services
• Forum Participation: Public posts and profile information in community forums may be visible to other users and processed by forum service providers
• Legal Requirements: When required by law, court order, or governmental regulation
• Business Transfers: In connection with mergers, acquisitions, or sale of assets
• Consent: When you explicitly consent to sharing for specific purposes

Public Information

Certain information may be publicly visible, including:

• Profile information you choose to make public (name, title, organization, bio)
• Certification achievements and educational milestones
• Forum posts, comments, and community contributions
• Public reactions, likes, and engagement with community content

Privacy Controls

You can control your privacy settings by:

• Adjusting profile visibility settings in your account dashboard
• Choosing what information to display publicly vs. privately
• Managing forum notification preferences and participation levels
• Opting out of public member directories or showcases

Security Measures

• Industry-standard encryption for data transmission and storage
• Secure authentication systems and access controls
• Regular security assessments and updates
• Limited access to personal information on a need-to-know basis
• Secure integration with third-party services through verified APIs

Data Retention

We retain your information for the following periods:

• Account Data: While your account is active and for 7 years after account closure for certification records
• Educational Records: Permanently, to maintain certification validity and transcript services
• Communication Data: 3 years for customer service records, ongoing for public forum posts
• Marketing Data: Until you unsubscribe or request deletion
• Analytics Data: Aggregated data indefinitely, personal identifiers removed after 2 years

Access and Control

• Account Access: View and update your profile information, preferences, and privacy settings
• Data Portability: Request a copy of your personal data in a machine-readable format
• Correction: Update or correct inaccurate personal information
• Deletion: Request deletion of your personal data (subject to certification record retention requirements)
• Marketing Opt-out: Unsubscribe from marketing communications at any time

Regional Privacy Rights

• GDPR (EU): Right to access, rectification, erasure, portability, and objection to processing
• CCPA (California): Right to know, delete, opt-out of sale, and non-discrimination
• Other Jurisdictions: Rights as applicable under local privacy laws

Cookie and Tracking Preferences

You can control cookies and tracking through:

• Browser settings to block or delete cookies
• Opting out of analytics tracking where available
• Managing marketing cookie preferences
• Using browser "Do Not Track" settings (honored where technically feasible)