Overview
This Privacy Policy explains what personal information we collect when you visit genuinecontact.net, how we use it, who we share it with, and what rights you have.
We are committed to handling your information with care and transparency. If you have questions at any point, please contact our Privacy Officer using the details at the end of this document.
This policy applies to residents of the United States, Canada, the European Union, and all other jurisdictions where our site is accessible.
1. Who Is Responsible for Your Data
Genuine Contact Co-Owners Group is the data controller for information collected through this website.
Our Privacy Officer is:
Rachel Bolton, Director and Privacy Officer
Email: hello@genuinecontact.net
Rachel is your point of contact for any privacy questions, requests, or complaints.
2. What Information We Collect
We collect personal information directly from you when you:
- Create an account — name and email address
- Make a purchase — name and email address (required), and optionally your billing address and phone number. We do not see or store your payment card details; these are handled directly and securely by our payment processors (Stripe and/or PayPal).
- Sign up for our email list — name and email address, via explicit opt-in
- Leave a comment on a blog post — name and email address, and any content you choose to share
- Information collected automatically
When you visit our site, we automatically collect certain technical information about your device and how you use the site. This includes:
- Your IP address and approximate location
- Browser type and version
- Pages you visit and time spent on them
- The website or search engine that referred you to us
- Date and time of your visit
We collect this using cookies, log files, and tracking pixels. You can manage your cookie preferences at any time using our cookie consent tool.
3. Why We Collect Your Information and Our Legal Basis
We only collect information we have a genuine reason to use. Here is what we collect, why, and the legal basis we rely on:
| Purpose | Legal Basis (GDPR) | PIPEDA Equivalent |
|---|---|---|
| Delivering your purchase and providing access to member content or courses | Performance of a contract | Required for the transaction |
| Sending your order confirmation, receipt, and access instructions | Performance of a contract | Required for the transaction |
| Sending marketing emails (only with your explicit opt-in) | Consent | Express consent |
| Improving our website using analytics data | Legitimate interests | Implied consent for analytics |
| Fraud detection and site security | Legitimate interests | Implied consent |
| Complying with legal obligations (e.g. financial records) | Legal obligation | Legal obligation |
We do not use your information for any purpose that is not listed here without first notifying you and, where required, obtaining your consent.
4. Email Communications
We will send you transactional emails related to your purchase — including your order confirmation, receipt, and instructions for accessing what you bought. These emails are necessary to fulfill your order and are not marketing.
All other email communications — such as newsletters, product updates, or promotional offers — are only sent if you have explicitly opted in. You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the “unsubscribe” link at the bottom of any marketing email, or by contacting us at hello@genuinecontact.net.
5. Cookies and Tracking
We use cookies and similar technologies to help our site function and to understand how it is used.
When you first visit our site, our cookie consent tool will ask for your preferences. You can choose to accept, decline, or customize which types of cookies are active. You can change your preferences at any time through the cookie settings on our site.
Types of cookies we use:
- Essential cookies — Required for the site to function (e.g. keeping you logged in). These cannot be turned off.
- Analytics cookies — Help us understand how visitors use the site (via Google Analytics). These are only active with your consent.
- Embedded content cookies — Set by third-party video platforms (YouTube/Vimeo) when you watch embedded videos. These are only active with your consent.
We do not use advertising or retargeting cookies.
6. Third-Party Services We Use
We work with a small number of trusted third-party services to operate our website. Each of these may process some of your personal data:
| Service | Purpose | Their Privacy Policy |
|---|---|---|
| Google Analytics | Website analytics | policies.google.com/privacy |
| Mailchimp | Email communications | mailchimp.com/legal/privacy |
| Stripe / PayPal | Payment processing | stripe.com/privacy / paypal.com/privacy |
| YouTube / Vimeo | Embedded video content | youtube.com/privacy / vimeo.com/privacy |
We do not sell your personal information to any third party. We share your information with these services only as necessary to operate our site and deliver your purchases.
We may also share your information if required by law. For example, in response to a valid court order or subpoena.
7. Data Retention
We keep your personal information only for as long as it is needed:
- Active accounts — We retain your information for as long as your account is open and active.
- Closed accounts — When you close your account, we delete your personal information, except where we are required by law to retain it.
- Purchase and financial records — We retain purchase information (name, email, transaction details) for 7 years to meet US financial recordkeeping requirements. We do not retain payment card data.
- Email list — If you unsubscribe, we remove you from active communications. We may retain a suppression record to ensure we do not contact you again.
When data is no longer needed, it is securely deleted or anonymized.
8. Your Rights
Depending on where you live, you have the following rights regarding your personal information. To exercise any of them, contact Rachel Bolton at hello@genuinecontact.net.
All users
- Access — You can ask us what personal information we hold about you.
- Correction — You can ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete information.
- Deletion — You can ask us to delete your information, subject to legal retention requirements.
- Withdraw consent — Where we rely on your consent (e.g. for marketing emails), you can withdraw it at any time.
Canadian residents (PIPEDA)
You have the right to access your personal information and to challenge the accuracy or completeness of information we hold. You may also file a complaint with the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada at priv.gc.ca if you believe your privacy rights have been violated.
EU / EEA residents (GDPR)
In addition to the rights above, you have the right to:
- Data portability — Receive your data in a structured, commonly used format
- Restrict processing — Ask us to limit how we use your data in certain circumstances
- Object to processing — Object to our use of your data where we rely on legitimate interests
- Lodge a complaint — With your local data protection authority
We will respond to all privacy requests within 30 days. Complex requests may take up to 60 days; we will notify you if this applies.
9. Data Security
We take reasonable technical and organizational steps to protect your personal information from unauthorized access, loss, or misuse. Our payment processing is handled entirely by Stripe and/or PayPal, which are PCI-DSS compliant — we never store raw payment card data.
No method of transmission over the internet is completely secure. If you have concerns about a specific piece of information you have shared, please contact us.
Data breach notification
In the event of a data breach that affects your personal information, we will notify you and relevant authorities as required by law — including within 72 hours where required under GDPR, and as soon as reasonably feasible under PIPEDA.
10. Children’s Privacy
This website is not directed at children under the age of 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe we have inadvertently collected information from a child, please contact us and we will delete it promptly.
11. International Data Transfers
Genuine Contact Co-Owners Group is based in the United States. If you are visiting from Canada or the EU/EEA, your information may be transferred to and stored in the United States.
We ensure that any such transfers are carried out in compliance with applicable law, including by relying on appropriate safeguards such as standard contractual clauses where required.
12. Changes to This Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we do, we will post the updated version on this page with a new “last updated” date. For significant changes, we will notify you by email if we have your contact information.
13. Contact Us and How to Make a Complaint
If you have questions, concerns, or a complaint about how we handle your personal information, please contact our Privacy Officer:
Rachel Bolton, Director and Privacy Officer
Genuine Contact Co-Owners Group
Email: hello@genuinecontact.net
We take all privacy concerns seriously and will respond within 30 days.
If you are not satisfied with our response, you have the right to contact:
Canada: Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada — priv.gc.ca
EU/EEA: Your local data protection authority
United States: The Federal Trade Commission — ftc.gov