PRIVACY POLICY

Effective date: 23 day of January 2024

https://www.the-sum-of-its-parts.com (the “Site”) is owned and operated by Jens Koester.

Jens Koester
201 5255 Yonge Street, North York, ON, M2N 5P8
North York, ON, Canada
Phone +1 (647) 236-3282
E-Mail: jk@the-sum-of-its-parts.com

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Purpose

​The purpose of this privacy policy (this “Privacy Policy”) is to inform users of our Site of the following:

1. The personal data we will collect;

2. Use of collected data;

3. Who has access to the data collected; and

4. The rights of Site users.

Consent
By using our Site users agree that they consent to:

1. The conditions set out in this Privacy Policy; and

2. The collection, use, and retention of the data listed in this Privacy Policy.

Personal Data We Collect

We only collect data that helps us achieve the purpose set out in this Privacy Policy. We will not collect any additional data beyond the data listed below without notifying you first.

Data Collected Automatically

When you visit and use our Site, we may automatically collect and store the following information:

IP address; and

Location

We may also collect the following data when you perform certain functions on our Site:

  • First and last name;

  • Age;

  • Date of birth;

  • Sex;

  • Email address;

  • Address;

  • Payment information; and

  • Auto fill data.

This data may be collected using the following methods:

  • Creating an account, newsletters.

How We Use Personal Data

Data collected on our Site will only be used for the purposes specified in this Privacy Policy or indicated on the relevant pages of our Site. We will not use your data beyond what we disclose in this Privacy Policy.

The data we collect automatically is used for the following purposes:

Statistics

Newsletter Content Management
We use ConvertKit as our marketing platform. By clicking the Link to Sign Up to our newsletter, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to ConvertKit for processing. Learn more about ConvertKit’s privacy practices.

Amazon Associates Program
THE SUM OF ITS PARTS is a participant in the Amazon Associates Program. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Shopping Data

Legal Bases for Collecting and Using Information

For our users in the European Union, we want to provide clarity on the legal grounds guiding our processing of your information under EU data protection laws. Our utilization of your information is anchored in the following principles:

  1. Necessity for Contractual Commitments:

    • Your information is used when necessary to fulfill our commitments to you as outlined in applicable terms of service or other agreements. This may include administering your account, enabling website access on your device, or processing payments for a paid plan.

  2. Legal Obligation Compliance:

    • We may use your information to comply with legal obligations imposed upon us.

  3. Protection of Vital Interests:

    • Information processing may be essential to protect your vital interests or the vital interests of another person.

  4. Legitimate Interests:

    • We have a legitimate interest in using your information for various purposes, such as providing and enhancing our services, ensuring the security of our offerings, communicating with you, analyzing user retention and attrition, monitoring and preventing service issues.

  5. Consent:

    • In cases where you have subscribed to our services, either through a free or paid subscription, you have given us your explicit consent to process your information.

We are committed to transparency and take your privacy seriously. If you have any concerns or inquiries regarding the processing of your information, please reach out to us directly. Your trust is important, and we strive to maintain the highest standards in safeguarding your data.

Under a new California law, the California Consumer Privacy Act ("CCPA"), some personalized advertising you see online might be considered an act of "sale" even though we don't share information that identifies you personally.

If you are located in specific regions, including California and countries falling under the European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), you hold certain rights regarding your personal information, such as the right to request access to or deletion of your data.

European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)

If you are situated in a country under the scope of the GDPR, you are entitled to various rights concerning your personal data, subject to legal exemptions. These rights include:

  1. Requesting access to your personal data.

  2. Requesting correction or deletion of your personal data.

  3. Objecting to our use and processing of your personal data.

  4. Requesting limitation of our use and processing of your personal data.

  5. Requesting portability of your personal data.

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with a government supervisory authority.

California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA)

The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) mandates us to provide additional information to California residents about the categories of personal information we collect and share, the sources from which we obtain it, and how and why we use it. In the last 12 months, we and our service providers collected categories of personal information from California residents, depending on the services used, including:

  • Identifiers (e.g., name, contact information).

  • Commercial information (e.g., billing information, purchase history).

  • Internet or electronic network activity information (e.g., usage of our services).

  • Geolocation data (e.g., location based on IP address).

  • Audio, electronic, visual, or similar information (e.g., profile picture).

  • Inferences we make (e.g., likelihood of retention or attrition).

If you are a California resident, you have additional rights under the CCPA, including the right to:

  1. Request information about the categories of personal information we collect, the purposes for collecting it, and more.

  2. Request deletion of personal information we collect or maintain.

  3. Opt out of any sale of personal information.

  4. Not receive discriminatory treatment for exercising your rights under the CCPA.

Contacting Us About These Rights

You can usually access, correct, or delete your personal data using your account settings and tools provided. If you have any other inquiries about your rights, contact us through your account on our site by clicking "Contact".

When contacting us about your rights, we will need to verify your identity to ensure the security of your information. For instance, if you are a user, we may require you to contact us from the email address associated with your account. You can also designate an authorized agent to make a request on your behalf, provided they have written authorization, and we may still require you to verify your identity.

Links to Other Websites and Services

Our website may include integrations or links to third-party sites and services, such as embedded Tweets or YouTube videos. While we make an effort to minimize the use of cookies, it's important to note that we are not accountable for the practices employed by third-party websites or services embedded in, linked to, or linked from our website. Your engagements with any third-party website or service are governed by the rules and policies of that specific third party. Be sure to review their terms and privacy policies to understand how they handle your information.

Who We Share Personal Data With

Employees

We may disclose user data to any member of our organization who reasonably needs access to user data to achieve the purposes set out in this Privacy Policy.

Other Disclosures

We will not sell or share your data with other third parties, except in the following cases:

If the law requires it;

If it is required for any legal proceeding;

To prove or protect our legal rights; and

To buyers or potential buyers of this company in the event that we seek to sell the company.

If you follow hyperlinks from our Site to another Site, please note that we are not responsible for and have no control over their privacy policies and practices.

Chat and User Data

Information Collection

When using our chat feature on the website, we collect the following information:
User-provided data: Any information users voluntarily input into the chat, such as text messages or queries.
Automatically collected data: Non-personal information, such as IP addresses, browser information, and device details.

Purpose of Data Collection

The collected data is used for the sole purpose of providing and improving our chat service, offering personalized assistance, and enhancing user experience.

Data Processing

We process user data based on their consent and to fulfill the legitimate interests of improving our services. Personal data will not be used for any other purpose without explicit user consent.

Third-Party Integration

Our chat service may involve third-party service providers for functionalities such as processing and storing data. These providers adhere to our privacy standards.

Data Retention

User data collected through the chat will be retained for a duration necessary to fulfill the intended purposes outlined in this policy. Users can request deletion of their data at any time.

Security Measures

We implement industry-standard security measures to protect user data from unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, or destruction.

User Rights

Users have the right to access, correct, delete, or restrict the processing of their personal data. Requests regarding user data can be submitted through jk@the-sum-of-its-parts.com

Updates to Privacy Policy

This privacy policy is subject to periodic updates. Users will be notified of any material changes, and the updated policy will be published on this page.

Contact Information

For any inquiries or concerns about our privacy practices or data handling, users can contact us at jk@the-sum-of-its-parts.com

Consent

By using our chat service, users consent to the collection and processing of their personal data as described in this privacy policy.

Google Analytics

We use Google Analytics to analyze the use of our website. Google Analytics gathers information about website use by means of cookie with a randomly generated Client ID on your browser. Google does use your personal information such as your IP address in order to capture the reporting for the Website regarding the usage. You may opt out of Google Analytics with a browser add-on, which is available here.

Google’s privacy policy is available at: https://policies.google.com/privacy?hl=en-US

How Long We Store Personal Data

User data will be stored until the purpose the data was collected for has been achieved. You will be notified if your data is kept for longer than this period.

How We Protect Your Personal Data

In order to protect your security, we use the strongest available browser encryption and store all of our data on servers in secure facilities. All data is only accessible to our employees. Our employees are bound by strict confidentiality agreements and a breach of this agreement would result in the employee’s termination.

While we take all reasonable precautions to ensure that user data is secure and that users are protected, there always remains the risk of harm. The Internet as a whole can be insecure at times and therefore we are unable to guarantee the security of user data beyond what is reasonably practical.

Children

We do not knowingly collect or use personal data from children under 13 years of age. If we learn that we have collected personal data from a child under 13 years of age, the personal data will be deleted as soon as possible. If a child under 13 years of age has provided us with personal data their parent or guardian may contact us.

How to Access, Modify, Delete, or Challenge the Data Collected

If you would like to know if we have collected your personal data, how we have used your personal data, if we have disclosed your personal data and to who we disclosed your personal data, or if you would like your data to be deleted or modified in any way, please contact us.

jk@the-sum-of-its-parts.com

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​​How to Opt-Out of Data Collection, Use or Disclosure

In addition to the method(s) described in the How to Access, Modify, Delete, or Challenge the Data Collected section, we provide the following specific opt-out methods for the forms of collection, use, or disclosure of your personal data specified below:

You can opt out of the use of your personal data for marketing emails. You can opt-out by click unsubscribe.

Cookie Policy

A cookie is a small file, stored on a user’s hard drive by a website. Its purpose is to collect data relating to the user’s browsing habits. You can choose to be notified each time a cookie is transmitted. You can also choose to disable cookies entirely in your internet browser, but this may decrease the quality of your user experience.

We use the following types of cookies on our Site:

Functional cookies

Functional cookies are used to remember the selections you make on our Site so that your selections are saved for your next visits;

Analytical cookies

Analytical cookies allow us to improve the design and functionality of our Site by collecting data on how you access our Site, for example data on the content you access, how long you stay on our Site, etc;

Targeting cookies

Targeting cookies collect data on how you use the Site and your preferences. This allows us to personalize the information you see on our Site for you; and

Third-Party Cookies

Third-party cookies are created by a website other than ours. We may use third-party cookies to achieve the following purposes:

Modifications

This Privacy Policy may be amended from time to time in order to maintain compliance with the law and to reflect any changes to our data collection process. When we amend this Privacy Policy we will update the “Effective Date” at the top of this Privacy Policy. We recommend that our users periodically review our Privacy Policy to ensure that they are notified of any updates. If necessary, we may notify users by email of changes to this Privacy Policy.

Contact Information

If you have any questions, concerns or complaints, you can contact us

jk@the-sum-of-its-parts.com