Privacy Policy

This privacy policy explains how the Chess Academy Victoria Ni website (“we”, “our” or “the website”) collects, uses and protects your personal information that you give when you use our website and services.

1. Data collection and use

We only collect information that is necessary for us to provide quality services. This includes the following categories of data:

— Personal data: your name, email, phone number, age, country of residence.
— Payment Data: data required to process payment for courses (not stored on our servers).
— Technical data: IP address, browser type, operating system, data about your visit to the website and interaction with our pages.

2. Purposes of data use

At Chess Academy Victoria Ni, we process your personal data for specific purposes related to the provision of our services. Here is a more detailed description of how your data is used:

2.1 Processing payments and subscriptions

As our courses are paid for, we need to process payment information in order to pay for them. We may ask for your credit card details or other payment methods. It is important to note that your card details are not stored on our servers, but are transmitted through secure payment processing systems.

— Course Payment: We use payment information to receive payment for lessons and courses.
— Transaction Confirmation: After payment, you will receive a confirmation email with payment and course details.
— Refunds: In the event of a refund, your payment information is used to correctly process the refund transaction.

2.2 Provision of course information

Your contact details are used so that we can keep in touch with you and provide you with important information about courses, timetables, and special offers:

— Confirmation of lesson bookings: Once you have registered for a course or individual lesson, we send you a confirmation.
— Schedule changes: We may contact you by email or phone if there are changes to the course schedule.
— New Course Notifications: We may periodically send you information about new courses or promotions if you have consented to receive such notifications.

2.3 Customer Support and Service

We use your details to help you with any queries you may have about courses, fees or other aspects of our services:

— Answering inquiries: If you contact us via email or telephone with a query, your data will be used to provide a response.
— Problem solving: If there are technical or other problems with lessons or payments, we will use your data to diagnose and fix these problems.

2.4 Service Improvement

We may use anonymized data about interactions with our website to analyze and improve our service. This may include information about how you use the site, which pages you visit and at what stage of lesson registration or payment you may experience difficulties.

All data is therefore only used to provide a quality service and we take all measures to protect your privacy.

3. Cookies

Our website uses cookies to improve site performance and provide you with a personalized experience. Cookies allow us to store your preferences and provide you with relevant information on repeat visits. You can disable the use of cookies in your browser settings, but this may affect the functionality of the site.

4. Transfer of data to third parties

We guarantee that your personal data will not be transferred to third parties without compelling reasons and your notification. However, in some cases, data transfer may be necessary to provide services to you or fulfill our obligations to you. The main instances when and to whom your data may be shared are described below.

4.1 Service Providers

We work with a number of trusted service providers to assist us in carrying out our activities. These providers may access your personal data to perform their functions, but they are bound by strict confidentiality terms. Examples of such services are:

— Payment Processing: Providers who process payments to ensure secure transactions.
— Data hosting and storage: Companies that provide servers and data storage services for our website and database.
— Analytics tools: Platforms that help us analyze user behavior on the site and improve our site’s performance.

These service providers have access to your data only to the extent necessary to fulfill their duties and may not use it for other purposes.

4.2 Legal Obligations

In some cases, we may be required to share your data to comply with laws, regulations or decisions of public authorities. This may include:

— Responding to court requests: We may transfer your data if requested by public authorities as part of legal proceedings or pursuant to a court order.
— Legal Compliance: We may transfer data to comply with legal requirements, including to prevent illegal activities and to protect the rights of our users or third parties.

4.3 Transfer in the event of a change in company structure

In the event of a merger, acquisition or sale of some or all of our company’s assets, your data may be transferred to a third party as part of these transactions. However, such transactions will be subject to all applicable data protection regulations and you will be notified of such changes.

4.4 International transfer of data

Your personal data may be transferred to and processed outside your country of residence, including in countries that may have less stringent data protection laws. We ensure that any international transfers will be in compliance with all applicable data protection requirements and standard contractual clauses (e.g. under the GDPR).

4.5 Public and aggregated data

We may transfer anonymous or aggregated data to third parties. This data does not identify specific users and may be used to analyze and improve our services or for statistical purposes.

We therefore take all necessary measures to ensure the security of your data when it is transferred to third parties and ensure that such data is used strictly within the agreed terms and conditions.

5. Data protection and security

We take all necessary measures to protect your personal data by using modern encryption technologies and secure data transmission systems. All your payment data is processed through certified payment systems and access to your personal data is restricted to employees who need to do so to fulfill their duties.

However, despite all security efforts, it is important to realize that data transfers over the internet cannot be guaranteed to be completely secure. While we strive to protect your data, we cannot completely eliminate the risk of unauthorized access by third parties. Therefore, you use our website and transmit your data at your own risk.

If you have any questions about the protection of your data, we are always available to answer them

6. Your rights

As a user of our website, you have several important rights regarding your personal data. We respect your privacy and allow you to exercise these rights at any time.

6.1 Right to access data

You have the right to request information from us about what personal data we collect, store and process. This includes:

— The categories of data we collect.
— The purposes for which your data is used.
— Third parties to whom your data may be shared, if any.

You may request a copy of your data to personally verify its accuracy and correct use. We undertake to provide this information within a reasonable time and in a comprehensible manner.

6.2 Right to rectification of data

If you find that some of your personal data is out of date, incorrect or incomplete, you have the right to request that it be corrected. We will promptly make changes to ensure that your information is up to date and accurate.

6.3 Right to Data Deletion (“Right to be Forgotten”)

You have the right to request the deletion of all your personal data that we hold when one of the following conditions is met:

— The data is no longer needed for the purposes for which it was collected.
— You withdraw consent to the processing of the data if consent was the sole basis for its use.
— You object to the processing of the data and there is no legitimate reason to continue using it.

We will respect your request, but please note that some data may be retained to comply with legal requirements (e.g. tax or financial data).

6.4 Right to restriction of data processing

You have the right to request restriction of the processing of your data if:

— You dispute the accuracy of the data — we will temporarily stop processing until the data has been verified and corrected.
— The data is being processed unlawfully, but you would prefer to restrict its use rather than have it deleted.
— You object to the processing of the data and we check that there are legitimate grounds to continue the processing.

In these cases, we will only process your data for storage purposes or with your consent.

6.5 Right to data portability

You have the right to receive your personal data in a structured, machine-readable format (e.g. CSV format) in order to transfer it to another service provider. This right extends to data that you have provided to us directly and that we process on the basis of your consent or fulfillment of a contract.

6.6 Right to object to data processing

You have the right to object to the processing of your personal data if:

— The data is processed for direct marketing purposes.
— The data is processed on the basis of our legitimate interests, but you consider that your rights and freedoms outweigh these interests.

In the event of an objection, we will stop processing the data for the specified purposes unless we can demonstrate compelling legitimate grounds to continue.

6.7 Right to withdraw consent

If the processing of your data is based on your consent, you have the right to withdraw it at any time. We will immediately stop processing data on this basis upon receipt of your revocation.

6.8 Right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority

If you believe that your rights have been violated or your personal data is being improperly processed, you have the right to lodge a complaint with your local data protection supervisory authority. We recommend that you contact us first to resolve the situation, but this does not limit your right to contact the relevant authorities.

6.9 How do I exercise my rights?

To exercise any of the rights listed above, you may contact us via the contact details at the end of this privacy policy. We will consider your request and provide a response within one month of receipt, this period may be extended if necessary but you will be notified in a timely manner.

7. GDPR Compliance

We strictly follow the requirements of the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), ensuring that we process your personal data in a transparent and lawful manner. As part of our GDPR compliance, we provide the following assurances:

7.1 Legality of data processing

We only process your personal data on lawful grounds, such as your consent, performance of a contract, fulfillment of a legal obligation or to protect our legitimate interests.

7.2 Data minimization

We only collect and process data that is necessary for the provision of our services and ensure that processing is carried out in accordance with the principle of data minimization.

7.3 Transparency and informing you

We will inform you openly about what data we collect, for what purposes it is used and how long it is stored. You will also be notified in case of any changes related to the processing of your data.

7.4 Data security

We take all necessary measures to protect your data from unauthorized access, alteration or leakage. Our systems are regularly updated and tested to ensure they meet security standards.

7.5 Data transfers outside the EU

If your personal data is transferred outside the European Economic Area (EEA), we will ensure that all necessary measures to protect your data are in place, including the use of standard contractual clauses approved by the European Commission.

7.6 Data Breach

In the event of a leak or security breach of your data, we undertake to notify you and the relevant supervisory authority within 72 hours of discovering the incident if it poses a threat to your rights and freedoms.

7.7 Your rights under the GDPR

As a resident of the European Union, you have the rights listed under “Your Rights” in full compliance with the GDPR and can exercise them at any time by contacting us.

We are committed to following the principles and requirements of the GDPR to ensure that your data and privacy are as protected as possible.

8. Your rights under the CCPA (for California residents)

Under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), California residents have certain rights with respect to their personal data. We respect your right to privacy and provide you with the following options:

8.1 The right to obtain information

You have the right to request information about what categories of personal data we collect, use, disclose or sell. At any time, you may receive a report about:

— The categories of data we collect.
— The sources of that data.
— The purposes for their use.
— Third parties with whom your data may be shared.

8.2 Right to have your data erased

You have the right to request the deletion of your personal data that we have collected. In some cases, we may refuse deletion if we need to retain the data to fulfill our legal obligations or other legitimate purposes as provided by the CCPA.

8.3 Right to refuse to sell data

We do not sell your personal data to third parties. If such a situation arises in the future, you will be notified and you will have the opportunity to opt out of the sale of your data.

8.4 Right to equal service

We do not discriminate against users for exercising their rights under the CCPA. This means that if you exercise your rights to obtain information, delete your data or refuse to sell your data, the quality of our services to you will not be impaired.

8.5 How to exercise your rights

If you wish to exercise any of your rights under the CCPA, please contact us via the contact details provided. We are committed to responding to your request within 45 days. You may be required to provide additional information to confirm your identity.

8.6 Data Protection

We take all measures to protect your data in accordance with the CCPA, however, as with any data processing, absolute security cannot be guaranteed.

9. Changes to privacy policy

We reserve the right to change this privacy policy at any time. We will notify you of any changes on this page. Please check the policy periodically to familiarize yourself with the current terms and conditions.

10. Contact Information

If you have any questions or wish to exercise your data rights, please contact us.