1. Introduction

We respect your privacy and are committed to protecting the personal information entrusted to us. This Privacy Policy explains how personal information is collected, used, disclosed, stored, retained, and protected when you access or use the Audiostanding website, mobile-accessible services, applications, digital products, communications, features, and related services.

This Privacy Policy applies to visitors, registered users, purchasers, students, listeners, instructors, content creators, consultants, sales representatives, affiliates, influencers, beneficiary organizations, nonprofit organizations, religious organizations, donors, supporters, prospective customers, business contacts, and other individuals who interact with the Services.

By accessing or using the Services, you acknowledge that you have read and understood this Privacy Policy. Where applicable law requires consent, we will request consent before collecting or processing the relevant personal information.

This Privacy Policy does not form a contract requiring us to retain information for any particular period. It does not limit any rights available to you under applicable privacy or data-protection law.

2. Scope of This Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy applies to information collected through:

• The Audiostanding website and related webpages;
• User registration, login, authentication, and account-management features;
• Audiobooks, courses, videos, audio recordings, documents, and other digital products;
• Instructor, consultant, affiliate, influencer, and beneficiary programs;
• Purchases, subscriptions, enrollments, commissions, revenue sharing, and payouts;
• Fundraising campaigns and beneficiary-related services;
• Customer support, technical support, and account-assistance interactions;
• Email, SMS, telephone, chat, forms, surveys, and other communications;
• Marketing, advertising, referral, analytics, and lead-generation activities;
• Social-media pages, advertisements, and integrations;
• Events, demonstrations, interviews, meetings, and promotional activities; and
• Any other service that links to or displays this Privacy Policy.

Separate or supplemental privacy notices may apply to particular features, promotions, jurisdictions, employment relationships, or programs. If a supplemental notice conflicts with this Privacy Policy, the supplemental notice will govern the specific activity to which it applies.

3. Important Definitions

Personal information or personal data means information that identifies, relates to, describes, is reasonably capable of being associated with, or could reasonably be linked directly or indirectly to an identifiable individual or household.

Processing means any operation performed on personal information, including collecting, recording, organizing, storing, using, analyzing, transmitting, sharing, modifying, retrieving, restricting, deleting, or destroying it.

Services means the Audiostanding website, platform, products, programs, features, content, communications, and related services.

Service providers means companies or individuals that process information on our behalf to provide operational, technical, professional, transactional, marketing, or administrative support.

4. Personal Information We Collect

The categories of information we collect depend on how you interact with the Services, the features you use, the transactions you complete, and the permissions you provide.

4.1 Account and Identity Information

We may collect:

• Full name;
• Username or account identifier;
• Email address;
• Telephone or mobile number;
• Date of birth or age confirmation;
• Profile photograph or avatar;
• Country, state, province, city, and mailing address;
• Password and authentication credentials in protected form;
• Account role, permissions, status, and preferences;
• Electronic signatures and agreement-acceptance records;
• Identity-verification information; and
• Information used to prevent duplicate, fraudulent, or unauthorized accounts.

4.2 Profile and Preference Information

We may collect:

• Biography and professional background;
• Areas of interest, expertise, and learning preferences;
• Content and communication preferences;
• Language and accessibility preferences;
• Notification settings;
• Saved products, wish lists, favorites, and library selections;
• Listening and viewing preferences; and
• Other information added to an account or profile.

4.3 Transaction and Purchase Information

When you purchase or receive products or services, we may collect:

• Products viewed, selected, purchased, or returned;
• Shopping-cart information;
• Order numbers and transaction identifiers;
• Purchase dates, amounts, discounts, fees, and taxes;
• Payment status and payment method type;
• Billing name and billing address;
• Refund, dispute, chargeback, or cancellation information;
• Enrollment and product-access records;
• Commission, revenue-share, and payout information; and
• Records required for accounting, auditing, tax, and compliance purposes.

Complete payment-card details are generally submitted directly to third-party payment processors and are not stored on our servers. We may receive limited payment information, such as card type, last four digits, expiration month and year, payment status, and processor-generated identifiers.

4.4 Content and Learning Activity

We may collect information about how you use digital content, including:

• Courses, audiobooks, chapters, lessons, and videos accessed;
• Playback position and completion percentage;
• Start, pause, resume, rewind, and completion activity;
• Quiz, assessment, assignment, or course-progress information;
• Certificates, achievements, and completion records;
• Reviews, ratings, comments, questions, and feedback;
• Downloads, bookmarks, saved locations, and notes; and
• Device and session information associated with content consumption.

4.5 Communications and Support Information

When you communicate with us, we may collect:

• The content of emails, messages, forms, support tickets, and chat conversations;
• Telephone-call details and, where lawful and disclosed, call recordings;
• SMS messages and opt-in or opt-out records;
• Customer-service history;
• Complaint, dispute, and resolution information;
• Survey responses and interview notes;
• Files, screenshots, or documents submitted for support; and
• The date, time, delivery status, and response status of communications.

4.6 Instructor and Content-Creator Information

For instructors and content creators, we may collect:

• Professional qualifications, biography, expertise, and experience;
• Course, audiobook, lesson, video, audio, document, and product submissions;
• Voice recordings, images, likeness, and presentation materials;
• Draft, review, approval, revision, and publication records;
• Copyright, licensing, ownership, and authorization information;
• Revenue allocation, commission, and payout details;
• Banking or payout-account information submitted to payment providers;
• Tax forms and tax-identification information where legally required;
• Electronic agreements and signatures;
• Performance, engagement, and product-sales information; and
• Communications with consultants, administrators, and support personnel.

4.7 Consultant, Sales Representative, Affiliate, and Influencer Information

We may collect:

• Contact and account information;
• Business, professional, and promotional information;
• Affiliate codes, referral links, custom URLs, and campaign identifiers;
• Referral, attribution, conversion, and commission records;
• Agreements, signatures, approvals, and program status;
• Social-media handles, audience size, and engagement information;
• Marketing content and campaign-performance information;
• Lead assignments and customer-interaction records;
• Payout and tax information; and
• Fraud, misuse, duplicate-account, and program-compliance information.

4.8 Beneficiary and Organization Information

When an individual applies for, represents, or interacts with a beneficiary organization, nonprofit, charity, church, ministry, religious organization, school, community organization, or similar entity, we may collect:

• Organization name, address, telephone number, email address, and website;
• Organization type, mission, activities, and community served;
• Registration, incorporation, tax-exemption, or legitimacy documentation;
• Employer identification or tax-identification information where required;
• Names, titles, and contact information of authorized representatives;
• Authorization, identity, and authority-to-act documentation;
• Fundraising purpose, campaign details, goals, and promotional information;
• Social-media accounts, audience information, and communication channels;
• Approval, review, suspension, and compliance records;
• Campaign attribution, product sales, and revenue-share information;
• Payout instructions and financial-account information submitted to processors;
• Supporting files and verification records; and
• Communications between the organization, its representatives, and our personnel.

4.9 Marketing Lead and Prospective Customer Information

We may collect information about prospective users and business contacts, including:

• Name, email address, telephone number, and organization;
• Information submitted through advertisements, lead forms, or landing pages;
• Products, programs, or opportunities in which a person expressed interest;
• Lead source, campaign, advertisement, and referral information;
• Communications and follow-up history;
• Appointment, outreach, and conversion status;
• Publicly available professional or organizational information;
• Marketing preferences and consent records; and
• Information provided by authorized advertising, referral, or business partners.

4.10 Uploaded and User-Generated Content

We may collect content that users upload, submit, create, transmit, or publish, including:

• Audio and voice recordings;
• Videos and images;
• Course materials, manuscripts, scripts, and documents;
• Comments, ratings, reviews, and discussion posts;
• Messages sent through platform features;
• Logos, trademarks, promotional materials, and organization content;
• Captions, transcripts, and metadata; and
• Other information contained within submitted files.

Users should not upload personal information about another person unless they have lawful authority, permission, or another valid legal basis to do so.

4.11 Information Collected Automatically

When you access or use the Services, we may automatically collect:

• Internet Protocol address;
• Browser type and version;
• Operating system;
• Device type, model, and identifiers;
• Language and regional settings;
• Approximate location derived from an IP address;
• Internet-service provider or mobile carrier;
• Referral and exit URLs;
• Pages, products, and content viewed;
• Search queries and navigation paths;
• Clicks, scrolling, interactions, and session duration;
• Date and time of access;
• Login and authentication events;
• Cookie, pixel, SDK, and session identifiers;
• Error reports, diagnostic data, and performance logs;
• Security events and suspected fraudulent activity;
• Affiliate, advertising, and campaign-attribution information; and
• Other technical information needed to operate and secure the Services.

4.12 Information from Third Parties

We may receive information from:

• Payment processors and payout providers;
• Authentication and identity-verification providers;
• Email, SMS, telephone, and communication providers;
• Analytics and advertising partners;
• Social-media platforms;
• Affiliates, influencers, consultants, and referral partners;
• Beneficiary organizations and their authorized representatives;
• Fraud-prevention and cybersecurity providers;
• Public databases, government records, and publicly available websites;
• Professional advisers and service providers;
• Business partners where legally permitted; and
• Other users who provide information about a transaction, organization, or collaboration.

5. Sensitive Personal Information

Certain information may be considered sensitive under applicable law. Depending on the Services used, this may include account credentials, precise financial information, tax-identification information, government-issued identification, electronic signatures, communications content, and information used for identity verification or account security.

We process sensitive information only where reasonably necessary to provide the requested Services, complete transactions, administer payouts, verify identity or organizational legitimacy, protect accounts, prevent fraud, satisfy legal obligations, establish or defend legal claims, or obtain consent where required.

We do not use or disclose sensitive personal information for the purpose of inferring characteristics about individuals except as permitted by applicable law.

6. How We Use Personal Information

We may use personal information to:

6.1 Provide and Operate the Services

• Create, maintain, and administer accounts;
• Authenticate users and manage login sessions;
• Provide access to purchased or authorized digital products;
• Track course, audiobook, lesson, and video progress;
• Maintain user libraries, enrollments, bookmarks, and preferences;
• Process orders, transactions, refunds, and payouts;
• Administer instructor, consultant, affiliate, and beneficiary programs;
• Publish and distribute approved content;
• Manage agreements, signatures, permissions, and approvals;
• Provide customer service and technical support; and
• Operate features requested by users.

6.2 Verify Accounts and Protect Security

• Verify email addresses and mobile numbers;
• Send one-time passwords or verification codes;
• Provide two-factor authentication;
• Detect unauthorized access or suspicious behavior;
• Prevent fraud, abuse, spam, piracy, and account misuse;
• Investigate security events and enforce access restrictions;
• Confirm identity or authority to represent an organization; and
• Maintain audit and security logs.

6.3 Process Payments, Revenue Sharing, and Payouts

• Complete purchases and collect applicable charges;
• Calculate taxes, fees, commissions, and revenue allocations;
• Administer refunds, disputes, and chargebacks;
• Pay eligible instructors, consultants, affiliates, and beneficiaries;
• Maintain financial, accounting, and transaction records;
• Prevent payment fraud and unauthorized transactions; and
• Comply with tax, banking, anti-fraud, and legal obligations.

6.4 Communicate with Users

• Send service, account, order, and security notices;
• Respond to questions and support requests;
• Send verification and authentication messages;
• Provide updates about products, programs, applications, or campaigns;
• Communicate about agreements, approvals, payouts, and account status;
• Request feedback or participation in surveys;
• Send marketing communications where legally permitted; and
• Maintain communication preference and consent records.

6.5 Personalize and Improve the Services

• Remember settings and preferences;
• Recommend relevant products, content, or opportunities;
• Understand how users navigate and interact with the Services;
• Measure product and feature performance;
• Test, troubleshoot, and improve functionality;
• Conduct analytics, research, and statistical reporting;
• Develop new services and features; and
• Create aggregated or de-identified information.

6.6 Marketing and Advertising

• Promote Audiostanding products, programs, and opportunities;
• Manage email, SMS, social-media, and advertising campaigns;
• Measure campaign reach, engagement, and conversions;
• Attribute referrals and affiliate activity;
• Build and manage prospective-customer and organization relationships;
• Deliver or measure relevant advertising where permitted;
• Prevent advertising fraud and duplicate attribution; and
• Honor communication and privacy preferences.

6.7 Legal, Compliance, and Business Purposes

• Comply with applicable laws and lawful requests;
• Enforce terms, policies, agreements, and program rules;
• Protect rights, property, safety, users, and the public;
• Investigate complaints, disputes, and suspected misconduct;
• Establish, exercise, or defend legal claims;
• Complete audits and regulatory reporting;
• Manage corporate transactions and business continuity; and
• Maintain records required by law or legitimate business needs.

7. SMS and Text-Message Communications

7.1 Types of SMS Messages

We may send SMS or text messages to a mobile number you provide. Depending on your relationship with the Services and the permissions you provide, messages may include:

• Account-verification codes;
• One-time passwords and two-factor authentication codes;
• Password-reset verification;
• Login, fraud, and account-security alerts;
• Order, enrollment, payment, and payout notifications;
• Appointment reminders;
• Application, beneficiary, instructor, affiliate, or consultant status updates;
• Customer-support communications;
• Important operational or service announcements;
• Requests to complete required account actions; and
• Marketing or promotional messages where you have provided any consent required by law.

7.2 Consent to Receive SMS Messages

By providing a mobile number and requesting or agreeing to SMS communications, you authorize us and our SMS service providers to send text messages to that number for the purposes disclosed when the number is collected.

Consent to receive promotional text messages is not a condition of purchasing a product or service unless expressly permitted by applicable law. The frequency of messages may vary based on your activity, account settings, and the programs in which you participate.

Message and data rates may apply. Your mobile carrier is not responsible for delayed or undelivered messages. Delivery is subject to your carrier, device, coverage, and network availability.

7.3 Opting Out of SMS Messages

You may withdraw consent to receive further non-essential or promotional SMS messages at any time by replying STOP to a message. We may also recognize other clear and reasonable opt-out requests, including words such as END, CANCEL, UNSUBSCRIBE, or QUIT, where supported by our messaging provider.

You may also request an SMS opt-out by updating available communication preferences in your account or by contacting us through the Contact Us page.

After an opt-out request, we may send one final confirmation message. We will then stop sending messages covered by the request within the period required by applicable law.

7.4 Transactional and Security Messages

Opting out of promotional SMS messages does not necessarily prevent us from sending a text message that you specifically request or that is reasonably necessary to complete account verification, provide a one-time authentication code, respond to your support request, protect account security, or deliver another essential service you initiate.

Where a mobile number is required for two-factor authentication, disabling all SMS delivery may require you to select an alternative authentication method or may limit access to features that depend on mobile verification.

7.5 SMS Help

You may reply HELP to a supported SMS message for assistance or contact us through the Contact Us page.

7.6 Mobile-Number Changes

You are responsible for maintaining an accurate mobile number. If you change or relinquish your number, you should update your account promptly so messages are not sent to the person who later receives that number.

7.7 SMS Information Sharing

Mobile numbers, SMS consent records, and message information may be shared with telecommunications carriers, messaging platforms, verification providers, and service providers solely as reasonably necessary to deliver, secure, monitor, or support the messaging service, comply with law, and honor opt-out requests.

SMS consent is not sold. We do not disclose SMS consent to unaffiliated third parties for their independent SMS marketing.

8. Email Communications

We may send emails concerning:

• Registration and account verification;
• Password resets and authentication;
• Orders, receipts, refunds, enrollments, and payments;
• Account, application, or program status;
• Instructor, consultant, affiliate, or beneficiary activity;
• Security warnings and suspected fraud;
• Customer-support requests;
• Policy, feature, or service changes;
• Products, opportunities, promotions, and marketing; and
• Other matters related to your use of the Services.

You may unsubscribe from marketing emails by using the unsubscribe link included in those messages or by changing available communication preferences. Even after unsubscribing from marketing, we may continue sending transactional, administrative, security, legal, or service-related emails.

It may take a reasonable period to process an unsubscribe request, and we may retain limited information necessary to record and honor the request.

9. Telephone Calls and Other Communications

We may communicate with users, applicants, organization representatives, and business contacts by telephone, video meeting, chat, or other communication channels.

Where permitted by law, calls or meetings may be recorded or monitored for quality assurance, training, fraud prevention, documentation, security, or dispute resolution. Where legally required, notice or consent will be provided before recording begins.

10. Cookies and Similar Technologies

10.1 What Cookies Are

Cookies are small text files placed on a browser or device when a website is visited. We may also use pixels, tags, scripts, web beacons, software development kits, local storage, session storage, device identifiers, and similar technologies.

Some cookies operate only during a browser session and are deleted when the browser closes. Others remain for a specified period or until they are deleted.

10.2 Categories of Cookies

Strictly Necessary Cookies

These cookies are required to operate, secure, and provide the Services. They may be used to:

• Maintain login sessions;
• Authenticate users;
• Protect forms against security threats;
• Maintain shopping-cart and checkout activity;
• Remember privacy and cookie choices;
• Balance traffic and maintain system availability;
• Prevent fraud and unauthorized access; and
• Provide functionality specifically requested by a user.

Because these cookies are necessary to provide the Services, they generally cannot be disabled through our cookie controls. They may be blocked through browser settings, but doing so may cause portions of the Services to stop functioning.

Functional Cookies

Functional cookies may be used to:

• Remember account and display preferences;
• Remember language, region, volume, and playback settings;
• Maintain saved selections and user-interface choices;
• Provide enhanced features; and
• Improve continuity across visits.

Analytics and Performance Cookies

Analytics technologies may be used to:

• Count visitors and sessions;
• Understand navigation and usage patterns;
• Measure page, product, and feature performance;
• Identify errors and technical problems;
• Evaluate traffic sources;
• Assess marketing and campaign performance; and
• Improve the design and operation of the Services.

Advertising and Marketing Cookies

Subject to applicable law and consent requirements, these technologies may be used to:

• Measure advertising reach and effectiveness;
• Attribute visits, registrations, and purchases to campaigns;
• Build or measure audiences;
• Limit how often an advertisement is displayed;
• Provide advertising that may be more relevant;
• Support remarketing or retargeting campaigns; and
• Understand activity across websites, applications, or devices.

Affiliate and Referral Cookies

Affiliate and referral technologies may be used to:

• Recognize an affiliate, influencer, consultant, or referring partner;
• Associate a visit, registration, or purchase with a referral;
• Apply product-specific or general attribution rules;
• Prevent duplicate or fraudulent referral claims;
• Calculate commissions and revenue allocations; and
• Maintain attribution for the period disclosed in the applicable program.

10.3 Session Technologies and Local Storage

We may use browser session storage or local storage to maintain login state, preferences, shopping-cart data, temporary form information, playback state, consent selections, security information, or application performance.

10.4 Managing Cookies

Where available, you may manage non-essential cookies through the cookie banner, privacy-preference center, or similar controls presented on the Services.

Most browsers allow users to block, limit, or delete cookies. Browser settings vary, and instructions are generally available in the browser's help or privacy menu. Blocking cookies may affect authentication, checkout, saved preferences, content access, affiliate attribution, and other features.

Choices generally apply to the browser and device on which they are made. You may need to repeat your choices when using another device, browser, browser profile, or after deleting cookies.

10.5 Consent for Non-Essential Cookies

In jurisdictions where consent is required, we will request permission before placing or accessing non-essential analytics, advertising, or similar cookies. You may withdraw that consent through available cookie controls.

10.6 Global Privacy Control

Where required by applicable law and technically supported, we will process a recognized browser-based opt-out preference signal, such as Global Privacy Control, as a request to opt out of the sale or sharing of personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising.

10.7 Cookie Retention

Cookie duration varies by purpose. Session cookies generally expire when the browser closes. Persistent cookies remain until their stated expiration date, until replaced, or until deleted. Cookie durations may change as Services and providers are updated.

11. Analytics, Advertising, and Social-Media Technologies

We may use third-party analytics, advertising, and social-media technologies to understand use of the Services, measure campaigns, diagnose problems, improve performance, and promote products or programs.

These providers may process information such as:

• IP address and approximate location;
• Browser, device, and operating-system information;
• Cookie and advertising identifiers;
• Pages, products, or advertisements viewed;
• Clicks, sessions, and referral sources;
• Registration, purchase, and conversion events; and
• Hashed or otherwise protected contact identifiers where permitted.

Third parties may combine information collected through the Services with information from other websites, applications, devices, or sources in accordance with their own privacy policies.

The availability of opt-out rights depends on your jurisdiction, the technology involved, and whether the activity is legally considered a sale, sharing, targeted advertising, or profiling.

12. Affiliate, Influencer, and Referral Tracking

The Services may use referral links, promotional codes, route identifiers, cookies, and similar technologies to recognize when a person arrives through an affiliate, influencer, consultant, sales representative, beneficiary, or other referral source.

This information may be used to:

• Attribute registrations and purchases;
• Calculate commissions or revenue sharing;
• Measure campaign performance;
• Resolve competing attribution claims;
• Prevent fraud, self-referrals, or manipulation;
• Enforce program terms; and
• Prepare financial, tax, and performance reports.

Referral attribution may remain active for a defined attribution period. Deleting cookies, changing devices, using another browser, or blocking tracking may affect attribution.

13. Payment Processing and Financial Information

Purchases and payouts may be handled by third-party payment, banking, or money-transfer providers. These providers may collect payment-card details, bank-account information, identity documentation, tax information, billing addresses, and other information required to complete a transaction or satisfy financial regulations.

Payment providers process information under their own terms and privacy policies. We may receive transaction identifiers, payment status, risk results, limited payment-method details, payout status, dispute information, and other information needed to administer transactions.

We may disclose transaction information to payment providers, banks, card networks, tax authorities, auditors, fraud-prevention providers, and professional advisers where reasonably necessary.

14. Audio, Video, Media, and Hosting Providers

Digital content may be stored, streamed, processed, or delivered through third-party media, cloud-hosting, content-delivery, transcription, storage, or video-platform providers.

These providers may process:

• Account or access identifiers;
• IP address and device information;
• Video and audio playback activity;
• Uploaded media and associated metadata;
• Streaming quality, errors, and performance information;
• Access-control and authorization information; and
• Other data necessary to host, secure, or deliver content.

15. Artificial Intelligence and Automated Tools

Certain features may use artificial intelligence, machine learning, automated analysis, or generative technologies to assist with content creation, editing, evaluation, classification, recommendations, fraud detection, customer support, moderation, transcription, summarization, or platform administration.

Information processed by these tools may include:

• Prompts, instructions, and submitted text;
• Audio, video, images, documents, or transcripts;
• Product and account information;
• Usage and engagement information;
• Support requests;
• Content-quality and evaluation data; and
• Technical, security, and fraud indicators.

We may use internal systems or third-party technology providers. Information will be shared only as reasonably necessary for the relevant function and subject to applicable contractual, security, and legal requirements.

Users should not submit highly sensitive, confidential, proprietary, or third-party personal information to an AI-enabled feature unless the feature specifically requests it and the user has authority to provide it.

Automated outputs may be incomplete or inaccurate and may be reviewed by authorized personnel where appropriate. We do not intend to make decisions producing legal or similarly significant effects solely through automated processing unless permitted by law and accompanied by required safeguards.

16. Legal Bases for Processing

Where European, United Kingdom, or similar data-protection law applies, we process personal information under one or more of the following legal bases:

16.1 Performance of a Contract

Processing may be necessary to create an account, provide purchased content, complete transactions, administer a program, fulfill an agreement, provide support, or take requested steps before entering into a contract.

16.2 Legitimate Interests

We may process information for legitimate interests such as:

• Operating and improving the Services;
• Securing accounts and preventing fraud;
• Understanding service usage;
• Communicating with users and business contacts;
• Managing commercial and organizational relationships;
• Protecting legal rights;
• Measuring service and campaign performance; and
• Conducting appropriate direct marketing.

Where we rely on legitimate interests, we consider whether those interests are overridden by the rights and interests of affected individuals.

16.3 Consent

We may rely on consent for optional marketing communications, non-essential cookies, certain SMS messages, processing of particular submitted information, or other activities where consent is required.

Consent may be withdrawn at any time. Withdrawal does not affect the lawfulness of processing performed before withdrawal.

16.4 Legal Obligations

We may process information to comply with tax, accounting, consumer-protection, privacy, telecommunications, financial, law-enforcement, court, regulatory, and other legal obligations.

16.5 Vital Interests and Public Interest

In limited circumstances, information may be processed to protect a person's vital interests or perform a task in the public interest where permitted by law.

17. How We Disclose Personal Information

We may disclose personal information to the categories of recipients described below. We do not disclose information more broadly than reasonably necessary for the stated purpose.

17.1 Service Providers

Information may be disclosed to providers supporting:

• Website and application hosting;
• Cloud storage and content delivery;
• Payment processing and payouts;
• Email, SMS, telephone, and customer communications;
• Analytics and performance monitoring;
• Advertising and campaign measurement;
• Authentication and identity verification;
• Fraud prevention and cybersecurity;
• Audio, video, transcription, and media delivery;
• Customer support and relationship management;
• Document signing and agreement administration;
• Accounting, auditing, legal, and tax services;
• Artificial-intelligence and content-processing tools; and
• Other operational and professional services.

17.2 Instructors, Consultants, Affiliates, and Program Participants

Information may be disclosed among authorized participants where needed to manage a collaboration, referral, course, product, beneficiary relationship, commission, application, approval, support request, or transaction.

For example, an instructor may receive information needed to deliver or support a course, and a consultant may receive information necessary to administer an approved collaboration. We do not authorize these recipients to use personal information for unrelated purposes.

17.3 Beneficiary Organizations

Where a transaction, campaign, or account is associated with a beneficiary organization, we may provide the organization or its authorized representative with aggregated campaign results, transaction status, attribution information, or limited supporter information where disclosed at collection and permitted by law.

We will not provide payment-card numbers to a beneficiary organization.

17.4 Advertising, Analytics, and Social-Media Partners

Subject to applicable law and available privacy choices, certain identifiers, device data, usage events, and conversion information may be disclosed to providers that help measure, deliver, or improve advertising and analytics.

Some privacy laws may define certain advertising-related disclosures as a “sale,” “sharing,” or use for “targeted advertising,” even when no money is exchanged. Applicable opt-out rights are described below.

17.5 Legal and Regulatory Disclosures

We may disclose information when we reasonably believe disclosure is necessary to:

• Comply with a law, regulation, subpoena, court order, or legal process;
• Respond to a lawful request from a government or regulatory authority;
• Enforce terms, policies, agreements, or legal rights;
• Detect, prevent, or investigate fraud, abuse, security threats, or unlawful conduct;
• Protect the safety, rights, or property of users, organizations, or the public;
• Respond to an emergency involving danger of death or serious physical injury; or
• Establish, exercise, or defend a legal claim.

17.6 Business Transfers

Information may be disclosed or transferred in connection with an actual or proposed merger, acquisition, financing, investment, reorganization, bankruptcy, sale of assets, joint venture, due diligence review, or other corporate transaction.

17.7 With Your Direction or Consent

We may disclose information to another person or organization when you direct us to do so or provide consent.

17.8 Aggregated and De-Identified Information

We may create and disclose information that has been aggregated or de-identified so that it cannot reasonably be used to identify an individual. We will not attempt to re-identify de-identified information except as permitted by law, such as to test whether de-identification methods remain effective.

18. Sale, Sharing, and Targeted Advertising

We do not sell personal information for monetary payment in the ordinary meaning of the word “sell.”

Some state privacy laws define “sale” or “sharing” more broadly and may include disclosure of identifiers or internet activity to advertising partners for cross-context behavioral advertising. To the extent our practices fall within those definitions, eligible residents may request to opt out through available privacy controls or the Contact Us page.

We do not knowingly sell or share for cross-context behavioral advertising the personal information of individuals under 16 years of age.

19. Data Retention

We retain personal information for no longer than reasonably necessary for the purposes described in this Privacy Policy, unless a longer retention period is required or permitted by law.

Retention decisions may consider:

• The duration of the account or business relationship;
• The time needed to provide Services or complete transactions;
• Content ownership, licensing, and access obligations;
• Commission, revenue-sharing, and payout obligations;
• Tax, accounting, and financial recordkeeping requirements;
• Applicable limitation periods and potential disputes;
• Fraud prevention, security, and abuse-detection needs;
• Consent, communication preference, and opt-out records;
• Legal holds, regulatory requirements, and court orders;
• The sensitivity and volume of the information;
• Whether the information can be aggregated or de-identified; and
• The technical feasibility and risk associated with deletion.

When information is no longer required, it may be deleted, anonymized, aggregated, or securely isolated until deletion is completed through routine backup and retention processes.

We may retain limited suppression-list information after an opt-out request to ensure that the preference continues to be honored.

20. Information Security

We use administrative, technical, organizational, and physical safeguards designed to protect personal information against unauthorized access, loss, misuse, alteration, disclosure, or destruction.

Safeguards may include:

• Encryption during transmission;
• Password hashing and protected credential storage;
• Role-based access controls;
• Multi-factor or two-factor authentication;
• Secure hosting and network protections;
• Logging, monitoring, and suspicious-activity detection;
• Backups and continuity procedures;
• Access restrictions based on business need;
• Vendor review and contractual safeguards;
• Software updates and vulnerability management;
• Employee or contractor confidentiality obligations; and
• Incident-response procedures.

No website, application, transmission, database, or storage system can be guaranteed to be completely secure. Users are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of their credentials, using strong and unique passwords, enabling available authentication protections, and notifying us promptly of suspected unauthorized access.

You should not send full payment-card numbers, passwords, government identification, or other highly sensitive information through ordinary email or unsupported communication channels.

21. Security Incidents and Data-Breach Notification

If we become aware of a security incident involving personal information, we may investigate, contain, remediate, document, and provide notifications to affected individuals, regulators, law enforcement, business partners, or others as required by applicable law.

Notification timing and content will depend on the nature of the incident, information involved, applicable legal requirements, law-enforcement considerations, and steps needed to protect affected individuals.

22. International Data Transfers

The Services may be accessed globally, and personal information may be transferred to, stored in, or processed in the United States and other countries where we or our service providers operate.

Privacy and data-protection laws in those countries may differ from the laws in your jurisdiction. Where required, we use appropriate safeguards for international transfers, which may include contractual protections, approved standard contractual clauses, adequacy decisions, data-protection frameworks, or another lawful transfer mechanism.

By using the Services or providing information, you understand that information may be processed in countries outside your place of residence, subject to applicable law.

23. Your Privacy Rights

Depending on where you live and subject to legal limitations, you may have the right to:

• Confirm whether we process your personal information;
• Request access to personal information;
• Request correction of inaccurate personal information;
• Request deletion of personal information;
• Request a portable copy of certain information;
• Request restriction of processing;
• Object to certain processing;
• Withdraw consent where processing is based on consent;
• Opt out of certain marketing communications;
• Opt out of certain sales, sharing, or targeted advertising;
• Opt out of certain profiling or automated decision-making;
• Limit certain uses of sensitive personal information;
• Appeal the denial of a privacy request; and
• Complain to an applicable data-protection authority.

23.1 Submitting a Request

Privacy requests may be submitted through the Contact Us page or another privacy request method made available on the Services.

A request should provide sufficient information to identify the requester, locate relevant records, understand the requested action, and verify the request.

23.2 Identity Verification

To protect personal information, we may verify identity before completing a request. Verification may require confirmation through an account, email address, mobile number, transaction information, signed statement, or other information reasonably related to the request.

We will not request more verification information than reasonably necessary. If identity cannot be verified, we may be unable to fulfill the request.

23.3 Authorized Agents

Where permitted by law, an authorized agent may submit a request on your behalf. We may require proof of authorization and may contact you directly to verify your identity or confirm the authorization.

23.4 Response Timing

We will respond within the period required by applicable law. Where legally permitted, we may extend the response period and will provide notice of the extension.

23.5 Limitations and Exceptions

Privacy rights are not absolute. We may deny or limit a request where permitted by law, including where information is needed to:

• Complete a transaction or provide requested Services;
• Detect or prevent fraud, abuse, or security incidents;
• Comply with legal, tax, accounting, or regulatory obligations;
• Exercise or defend legal claims;
• Protect the rights and safety of others;
• Preserve freedom of expression or another person's rights;
• Maintain information subject to legal privilege;
• Conduct internal uses reasonably aligned with user expectations; or
• Retain de-identified or aggregated information.

23.6 No Unlawful Discrimination

We will not unlawfully discriminate against a person for exercising an applicable privacy right. Exercising certain rights may affect Services that require the information subject to the request.

24. Account Information, Correction, and Deletion

Registered users may be able to review or update certain account information through their account settings.

You may request account deletion through available account controls or the Contact Us page. Before deleting an account, we may verify identity and explain any effects on purchased content, active collaborations, payouts, beneficiary campaigns, agreements, or other Services.

Account deletion does not necessarily require immediate deletion of all related information. We may retain information permitted or required for transactions, taxes, accounting, fraud prevention, legal claims, licensing, content ownership, security, opt-out compliance, and other lawful purposes.

25. California Privacy Notice

This section applies to California residents to the extent the California Consumer Privacy Act, as amended, applies to our processing.

25.1 Categories of Personal Information

During the preceding 12 months, we may have collected the following categories of personal information, depending on how individuals interacted with the Services:

• Identifiers: names, email addresses, postal addresses, telephone numbers, IP addresses, account names, and online identifiers.
• Customer-record information: contact, account, payment, signature, and transaction information.
• Protected-classification information: age or date-of-birth information where provided or required.
• Commercial information: products considered or purchased, transaction history, subscriptions, refunds, and purchasing tendencies.
• Internet or electronic-network activity: browsing, search, click, interaction, device, cookie, and usage information.
• Geolocation information: approximate location based on an IP address or device information.
• Audio, electronic, visual, or similar information: recordings, uploaded media, support communications, and profile images.
• Professional or employment-related information: qualifications, organization roles, work history, and professional profiles.
• Education information: course participation, learning progress, and qualifications where provided.
• Inferences: preferences, interests, likely product interests, and engagement patterns derived from activity.
• Sensitive personal information: account credentials, financial details handled for transactions or payouts, tax information, and identity verification information where collected.

25.2 Sources

Information may be collected directly from individuals, automatically through the Services, from service providers, payment providers, advertising platforms, referral partners, organization representatives, social-media services, public sources, and other sources described in this Privacy Policy.

25.3 Business and Commercial Purposes

We use these categories for the business and commercial purposes described in Section 6, including providing Services, processing transactions, securing accounts, communicating, personalizing, analyzing, marketing, complying with law, and protecting legal rights.

25.4 Categories of Recipients

Information may be disclosed to the recipient categories described in Section 17, including service providers, payment providers, media-hosting providers, analytics and advertising partners, authorized program participants, professional advisers, government authorities, and parties to business transactions.

25.5 California Rights

Subject to applicable law, California residents may request:

• Access to categories and specific pieces of personal information;
• Correction of inaccurate personal information;
• Deletion of personal information;
• Information about collection, use, disclosure, sale, or sharing;
• Opt-out of sale or sharing;
• Limitation of certain uses of sensitive personal information; and
• Equal treatment when exercising privacy rights.

We do not use sensitive personal information for purposes that require a right to limit under California law unless otherwise disclosed.

25.6 California “Shine the Light”

California residents may have the right to request information concerning certain disclosures of personal information to third parties for their direct-marketing purposes. Requests may be submitted through the Contact Us page.

26. Other United States State Privacy Rights

Residents of states with comprehensive consumer privacy laws may have rights to access, correct, delete, or obtain a portable copy of personal data and to opt out of certain sales, targeted advertising, profiling, or processing of sensitive data.

Where an applicable state law provides an appeal right, you may appeal a denied privacy request by responding to the denial or submitting an appeal through the Contact Us page and clearly identifying the request as a privacy appeal.

Rights vary by state and may be subject to eligibility requirements, exemptions, verification, and legal limitations.

27. European Economic Area, United Kingdom, and Switzerland

Individuals in the European Economic Area, United Kingdom, and Switzerland may have rights to:

• Access personal data;
• Correct inaccurate or incomplete data;
• Request deletion;
• Restrict processing;
• Object to processing based on legitimate interests;
• Object to direct marketing;
• Receive certain data in a portable format;
• Withdraw consent;
• Request safeguards concerning automated decision-making; and
• Complain to a supervisory authority.

Individuals may lodge a complaint with the data-protection authority in the country where they live, work, or believe an alleged infringement occurred.

We encourage you to contact us first so that we have an opportunity to address the concern.

28. Canadian Privacy Rights

Canadian residents may have rights under applicable federal or provincial law to access personal information, request correction, withdraw consent, and complain to an applicable privacy commissioner.

Withdrawal of consent may be subject to legal or contractual restrictions and may affect our ability to provide Services requiring the information.

29. Children's Privacy

The Services are not directed to children under 13 years of age, and we do not knowingly collect personal information online from a child under 13 without verifiable parental consent where required by law.

Certain products may be suitable for younger audiences but should be accessed only under the supervision and authority of a parent, legal guardian, school, church, nonprofit organization, or another responsible adult where required.

If we learn that personal information was collected from a child in violation of applicable law, we will take reasonable steps to delete it or obtain appropriate authorization.

A parent or legal guardian who believes a child submitted personal information improperly should contact us through the Contact Us page.

30. Third-Party Websites, Services, and Links

The Services may contain links to websites, applications, social-media platforms, payment pages, or services operated by third parties.

We do not control and are not responsible for the privacy, security, content, or practices of third-party services. This Privacy Policy does not apply to information collected directly by those third parties.

Users should review the privacy policies and terms of third-party services before providing personal information.

31. Public Profiles and Publicly Shared Information

Certain account information, instructor profiles, beneficiary information, course information, reviews, comments, campaign materials, or other content may be visible to the public or other users.

Information shared publicly may be viewed, copied, indexed, stored, or redistributed by third parties. Users should avoid publishing information they do not want to become public.

Removal from the Services may not remove copies previously saved, indexed, or redistributed by others.

32. Do Not Track

Some browsers transmit “Do Not Track” signals. Because there is no universally accepted technical standard governing these signals, the Services may not respond to every Do Not Track signal.

Where required by law, we recognize supported opt-out preference signals such as Global Privacy Control as described in this Privacy Policy.

33. Information Relating to Organizations and Business Users

When an organization provides an account or directs an individual to use the Services, the organization may control certain account information and may have access to information associated with that organizational relationship.

An organization may be able to manage participation, verify status, receive campaign or transaction reports, assign permissions, or request changes consistent with its authority and applicable agreements.

Individuals should direct questions about an organization's independent processing of personal information to that organization.

34. Government and Law-Enforcement Requests

We evaluate government and law-enforcement requests for personal information and may require valid legal process before disclosing information unless an emergency or another legal exception applies.

Where legally permitted and appropriate, we may narrow, challenge, reject, or seek clarification of requests that appear invalid, overly broad, or inconsistent with applicable law.

35. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy periodically to reflect changes in the Services, technology, vendors, business practices, legal requirements, or other circumstances.

When changes are made, the “Last Updated” date will be revised. Material changes may also be communicated through the Services, by email, through an account notice, or by another method appropriate under the circumstances.

Unless otherwise stated or required by law, an updated Privacy Policy becomes effective when posted. Continued use of the Services after the effective date is subject to the updated Privacy Policy.

36. Contact Us

Questions, concerns, complaints, privacy requests, account-deletion requests, or requests to exercise applicable privacy rights may be submitted through the official Contact Us page on the Audiostanding website.

To help us respond efficiently, please include:

• Your full name;
• The email address or mobile number associated with your account;
• Your country and state or province of residence;
• A clear description of your request; and
• Any information reasonably necessary to identify the relevant account or transaction.

Do not include passwords, complete payment-card numbers, or unnecessary sensitive personal information in a privacy request.