Privacy Policy
Effective Date: December 12, 2024
Owned and Operated by Mad Hat Media LLC
Based in Texas, USA
Mad Hat Media LLC (“Company,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) is committed to protecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy outlines how we collect, use, and disclose information about you in connection with the SPARK Local SEO Program (“Service”). This Privacy Policy is compliant with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), applicable to users in the European Economic Area (EEA), and other global privacy standards.
1. Information We Collect
1.1. Information You Provide Directly:
- Account Information: When you sign up for the Service, we collect information such as your name, email address, phone number, business name, website URL, and payment details.
- Support Requests: If you contact us for support, we may collect additional information necessary to address your inquiry.
1.2. Information We Collect Automatically:
- Website Analytics: We collect information about your use of the Service, including IP addresses, browser types, device information, pages viewed, and actions taken on our platform.
- Cookies and Tracking Technologies: We use cookies and similar technologies to enhance your user experience and gather analytics data. You can manage your cookie preferences through your browser settings.
1.3. Information from Third Parties:
We may collect information about your website and its performance from third-party sources, including but not limited to:
- Search engines (Google, Bing, Yahoo, etc.) and their APIs.
- Data scraping companies and tools.
- Publicly available online resources.
1.4. Special Categories of Data:
We do not intentionally collect sensitive personal data (e.g., health, religious beliefs, or political opinions). If you voluntarily provide such data, you consent to its processing under this Privacy Policy.
2. Lawful Basis for Processing
Under the GDPR, we process your personal data based on the following legal grounds:
- Performance of a Contract: To provide the Service you have subscribed to.
- Consent: Where you have explicitly consented to the processing of your data (e.g., subscribing to newsletters).
- Legitimate Interests: To improve our Service, prevent fraud, or market our business.
- Compliance with Legal Obligations: To meet regulatory and legal requirements.
3. How We Use Your Information
3.1. Service Delivery:
- To provide SEO reports, analyses, and insights.
- To process payments and manage your subscription.
- To communicate with you about the Service, updates, and support.
3.2. Business Operations:
- To analyze and improve the Service.
- To develop marketing and promotional materials, which may include anonymized or aggregated data derived from your account.
3.3. Marketing and Advertising:
- We may use anonymized or aggregated data from your reports to create marketing content, case studies, or testimonials.
- We will not use personally identifiable information in promotional materials without your explicit consent.
3.4. Legal Compliance:
- To comply with applicable laws, regulations, and legal requests.
- To enforce our Terms of Service and address potential fraud or security issues.
4. Your GDPR Rights
If you are located in the EEA, you have the following rights under the GDPR:
- Access: The right to access the personal data we hold about you.
- Rectification: The right to correct inaccurate or incomplete personal data.
- Erasure (“Right to be Forgotten”): The right to request the deletion of your personal data.
- Restriction of Processing: The right to restrict how we process your data in certain circumstances.
- Data Portability: The right to receive your personal data in a structured, commonly used, and machine-readable format.
- Objection: The right to object to our processing of your data for direct marketing or based on our legitimate interests.
- Withdraw Consent: The right to withdraw your consent at any time where processing is based on consent.
To exercise your rights, please contact us at support@madhatmedia.net.
5. Sharing Your Information
5.1. With Service Providers:
We may share your information with trusted third-party vendors who assist in providing the Service, such as payment processors, analytics providers, and hosting services.
5.2. For Legal Reasons:
We may disclose your information if required by law or if we believe such action is necessary to:
- Comply with a legal obligation.
- Protect and defend our rights or property.
- Prevent fraud or other illegal activities.
5.3. Business Transfers:
In the event of a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets, your information may be transferred to the new entity as part of the business transaction.
6. Data Retention
We retain your information for as long as necessary to provide the Service and comply with legal obligations. Upon termination of your account, we may retain anonymized or aggregated data for business purposes but will delete or anonymize personally identifiable information unless otherwise required by law.
7. Data Transfers Outside the EEA
Your personal data may be transferred to and processed in countries outside the EEA, including the United States. These countries may not provide the same level of data protection as the EEA. However, we ensure that such transfers comply with applicable data protection laws, including the use of standard contractual clauses approved by the European Commission.
8. Security
We implement reasonable administrative, technical, and physical safeguards to protect your information. However, no method of transmission or storage is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.
9. Cookies and Tracking
We use cookies and similar technologies to enhance your experience. By using the Service, you consent to the use of cookies as described in our [Cookie Policy] (if available).
10. Children’s Privacy
The Service is not directed to children under 18. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If we become aware that we have collected information from a child, we will delete it immediately.
11. Changes to This Privacy Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices or applicable laws. Any changes will be effective immediately upon posting, and your continued use of the Service constitutes acceptance of the updated Privacy Policy.
12. Contact Us
If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or wish to exercise your GDPR rights, you may contact us at:
Mad Hat Media LLC
support@madhatmedia.net