Privacy Policy

1. Our Commitment to Privacy

Theia Institute Think Tank (“Theia,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) is dedicated to advancing ethical leadership and responsible innovation. Our mission informs how we handle your information. This Privacy Policy outlines our commitment to transparency, accountability, and the protection of your personal data. We believe in building trust through principled data stewardship.

This policy describes the types of information we collect from you or that you may provide when you visit the website [theiathinktank.com](https://theiathinktank.com) (our “Website”), and our practices for collecting, using, maintaining, protecting, and disclosing that information.

2. Information We Collect

We collect several types of information from and about users of our Website, including:

Personal Information You Provide to Us:
- Contact Information: Your name, email address, and phone number when you subscribe to our newsletter, contact us through a form, register for an event, or make an inquiry.
- Donation Information: Financial information (such as credit card numbers) when you make a donation. This information is processed by our secure third-party payment processors, and we do not store your full financial details on our servers.
- Correspondence: Records and copies of your correspondence (including email addresses) if you contact us.

Information Collected Automatically:
- Usage Details: As you navigate through the Website, we may use automatic data collection technologies to collect certain information about your equipment, browsing actions, and patterns. This includes details of your visits, traffic data, location data, logs, and other communication data.
- Device Information: Information about your computer and internet connection, including your IP address, operating system, and browser type.

The technologies we use for this automatic data collection may include cookies. You can set your browser to refuse all or some browser cookies, but if you do, you may be unable to access certain parts of our Website.

3. How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect for purposes that align with our mission:

To Fulfill Our Mission:** To present our Website and its contents to you, share our research, and provide you with information, publications, or event details that you request from us.
To Communicate With You: To send newsletters, event invitations, and other mission-related communications. You may opt out of these communications at any time.
To Process Transactions: To process donations and event registrations.
To Improve Our Website: To analyze how our Website is used, allowing us to improve its functionality, content, and user experience.
To Ensure Security: To maintain the security and integrity of our Website and digital infrastructure.

Our Values-Based Commitment: We will not sell, rent, or trade your personal information with third parties for their commercial purposes. Furthermore, we commit to not knowingly using your personal data to train artificial intelligence (AI) models without your explicit, opt-in consent.

4. Data Storage and Security

Our website is hosted by a third-party website hosting service. This provider supplies the online platform that allows us to operate our website. Your data may be stored through our hosting provider’s data storage, databases, and general applications. They store your data on secure servers behind a firewall.

We and our service providers have implemented measures designed to secure your personal information from accidental loss and from unauthorized access, use, alteration, and disclosure. All payment transactions are encrypted using SSL technology.

However, the transmission of information via the internet is not completely secure. Although we do our best to protect your personal information, we cannot guarantee the security of your personal information transmitted to our Website. Any transmission of personal information is at your own risk.

5. Disclosure of Your Information

We do not disclose your personal information except in the limited circumstances described here:

Service Providers: We may share your information with third-party vendors, consultants, and other service providers who perform services on our behalf. This includes payment processors, analytics companies, and email distribution services. We vet these partners to ensure their privacy practices align with our values and do not include terms that permit damaging uses of your data.
Legal Requirements: We may disclose your information if required to do so by law or in the good faith belief that such action is necessary to comply with a legal obligation, protect and defend our rights or property, or act in urgent circumstances to protect the personal safety of users of the Website or the public.
With Your Consent: We may share your information for any other purpose with your explicit consent.

6. Cookies and Tracking Technologies

Our Website uses cookies (small files placed on your computer's hard drive) to help it function effectively. Some cookies are essential for the site to operate, while others help us analyze site traffic and improve our content.

You can control and manage cookies in various ways. Please keep in mind that removing or blocking cookies can negatively impact your user experience and parts of our website may no longer be fully accessible. Most browsers automatically accept cookies, but you can choose whether or not to accept cookies through your browser controls, often found in your browser’s “Tools” or “Preferences” menu.

7. Your Rights and Choices

We believe in empowering you to control your personal information. Depending on your location, you may have the following rights regarding your data:

* **Access: You can request a copy of the personal information we hold about you.
Rectification: You can request that we correct any inaccurate or incomplete information.
Erasure (“Right to be Forgotten”): You can request that we delete your personal information, subject to certain legal exceptions.
Opt-Out: You can unsubscribe from our mailing lists or marketing communications at any time by clicking the "unsubscribe" link at the bottom of our emails or by contacting us directly.

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at privacy@theiathinktank.com.

8. Third-Party Links

Our Website may contain links to other websites not operated or controlled by us. The policies and procedures we described here do not apply to third-party sites. We suggest contacting those sites directly for information on their privacy policies.

9. Children’s Privacy

Our Website is not intended for children under 13 years of age. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If we learn we have collected or received personal information from a child under 13 without verification of parental consent, we will delete that information.

10. Changes to Our Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices or for other operational, legal, or regulatory reasons. We will post the updated policy on this page and indicate the date it was last revised. We encourage you to review this policy periodically.

11. EU and Global Compliance

Applicability: If you are located in the European Economic Area (EEA), United Kingdom, or Switzerland, you have certain rights and protections under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and other applicable data protection laws. This section applies to the processing of your personal data.
Legal Basis for Processing: We process your personal data on the following legal bases:
- Consent: Where you have given us explicit consent, such as for receiving our newsletter or for the use of non-essential cookies.
- Performance of a Contract: To perform our contractual obligations to you, such as when processing a donation or event registration.
- Legitimate Interests: Where necessary for our legitimate interests, such as for analyzing website usage, ensuring network security, and responding to your inquiries, provided these interests are not overridden by your data protection rights.
- Legal Obligation: To comply with our legal and regulatory obligations.
International Data Transfers: Your information may be transferred to, and maintained on, computers located outside of your state, province, country, or other governmental jurisdiction where the data protection laws may differ from those of your jurisdiction. We will take all steps reasonably necessary to ensure that your data is treated securely and in accordance with this Privacy Policy. For transfers of data outside the EEA, we rely on appropriate safeguards, such as Standard Contractual Clauses, to ensure your data is protected.
Additional Rights Under GDPR: In addition to the rights listed in Section 7, you have the right to:
- Data Portability: Receive your personal data in a structured, commonly used, and machine-readable format.
- Lodge a Complaint: Lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority if you believe our processing of your personal data infringes on GDPR.
Data Retention: We retain your personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes for which we collected it, including for the purposes of satisfying any legal, accounting, or reporting requirements. To determine the appropriate retention period, we consider the amount, nature, and sensitivity of the data, the potential risk of harm from unauthorized use, and the applicable legal requirements.

12. Contact Us

If you have any questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or our data practices, please contact us at:

Email: privacy@theia.institute