Welcome to helpguide.org (the “site”), owned and operated by Helpguide.org International (“HelpGuide”, “we”, “us”, “our”). Your privacy is important to us. It is HelpGuide’s policy to respect your privacy and comply with any applicable law and regulation regarding any personal information we may collect about users of the site (“user(s), “you”, “yourself”, or “your”), including across the site and other platforms we own and operate.
Personal information is any information about you which can be used to identify you. This includes information about you as a person (such as name, address, and date of birth), your devices, payment details, and even information about how you use a website or online service.
This policy is effective as of 21 October 2021.
Last updated: 04 March 2023
Information We Collect
Information we collect falls into one of two categories: “voluntarily provided” information and “automatically collected” information.
“Voluntarily provided” information refers to any information you knowingly and actively provide us when using or participating in any of our services and promotions.
“Automatically collected” information refers to any information automatically sent by your devices in the course of accessing our products and services.
Log Data
When you visit the site, our servers may automatically log the standard data provided by your web browser. It may include your device’s Internet Protocol (IP) address, your browser type and version, the pages you visit, the time and date of your visit, the time spent on each page, and other details about your visit.
Additionally, if you encounter certain errors while using the site, we may automatically collect data about the error and the circumstances surrounding its occurrence. This data may include technical details about your device, what you were trying to do when the error happened, and other technical information relating to the problem. You may or may not receive notice of such errors, even in the moment they occur, that they have occurred, or what the nature of the error is.
Please be aware that while this information may not be personally identifying by itself, it may be possible to combine it with other data to identify individual persons.
Device Data
When you visit the site or interact with our services, we may automatically collect data about your device, such as:
- Device Type
- Operating System
- Device settings
- Geo-location data
Data we collect can depend on the individual settings of your device and software. We recommend checking the policies of your device manufacturer or software provider to learn what information they make available to us.
Personal Information
We may ask for personal information — for example, when you subscribe to our newsletter or when you contact us — which may include one or more of the following:
- Name
- City
Legitimate Reasons for Processing Your Personal Information
We only collect and use your personal information when we have a legitimate reason for doing so. In which instance, we only collect personal information that is reasonably necessary to provide our services to you.
Collection and Use of Information
We may collect personal information from you when you do any of the following on the site:
- Sign up to receive updates from us via email or social media channels
- Use a mobile device or web browser to access our content
- Contact us via email, social media, or on any similar technologies
- When you mention us on social media
We may collect, hold, use, and disclose information for the following purposes, and personal information will not be further processed in a manner that is incompatible with these purposes:
- to provide you with our platform’s core features and services
- to enable you to customize or personalize your experience of the site
- for analytics, market research, and business development, including to operate and improve the site, associated applications, and associated social media platforms
- for advertising and marketing, including to send you promotional information about our products and services and information about third parties that we consider may be of interest to you
- for internal record keeping and administrative purposes
- to comply with our legal obligations and resolve any disputes that we may have
We may combine voluntarily provided and automatically collected personal information with general information or research data we receive from other trusted sources. For example, our marketing and market research activities may uncover data and insights, which we may combine with information about how visitors use the site to improve the site and your experience on it.
Security of Your Personal Information
When we collect and process personal information, and while we retain this information, we will protect it within commercially acceptable means to prevent loss and theft, as well as unauthorized access, disclosure, copying, use, or modification.
Although we will do our best to protect the personal information you provide to us, we advise that no method of electronic transmission or storage is 100% secure, and no one can guarantee absolute data security.
You are responsible for selecting any password and its overall security strength, ensuring the security of your own information within the bounds of our services. For example, ensuring you do not make your personal information publicly available via our platform.
How Long We Keep Your Personal Information
We keep your personal information only for as long as we need to. This time period may depend on what we are using your information for, in accordance with this privacy policy. For example, if you have provided us with personal information such as an email address when contacting us about a specific inquiry, we may retain this information for the duration of your inquiry remaining open as well as for our own records so we may effectively address similar inquiries in future. If your personal information is no longer required for this purpose, we will delete it or make it anonymous by removing all details that identify you.
However, if necessary, we may retain your personal information for our compliance with a legal, accounting, or reporting obligation or for archiving purposes in the public interest, scientific, or historical research purposes or statistical purposes.
Children’s Privacy
We do not aim any of our products or services directly at children under the age of 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information about children under 13. If you are a parent or guardian and believe that HelpGuide has information of a child under the age of 13 please contact us immediately at [email protected] so we can use our best efforts to remove any such information from our database.
Disclosure of Personal Information to Third Parties
We may disclose personal information to:
- a parent, subsidiary, or affiliate of our organization
- third-party service providers for the purpose of enabling them to provide their services, including (without limitation) IT service providers, data storage, hosting and server providers, analytics, error loggers, debt collectors, maintenance or problem-solving providers, marketing providers, professional advisors, and payment systems operators. These third parties have access to your personal information only to perform these tasks on our behalf and are obligated not to disclose or use it for any other purpose.
- Our employees, contractors, and/or related entities
- Our existing or potential agents or business partners
- credit reporting agencies, courts, tribunals, and regulatory authorities, in the event you fail to pay for goods or services we have provided to you
- courts, tribunals, regulatory authorities, and law enforcement officers, as required by law, in connection with any actual or prospective legal proceedings, or in order to establish, exercise, or defend our legal rights
- third parties, including agents or sub-contractors, who assist us in providing information, products, services, or direct marketing to you
- third parties to collect and process data
- an entity that buys, or to which we transfer all or substantially all of our assets and business
Third parties we currently use include but may not be limited to:
- Google Analytics
- We use Google Analytics to monitor and analyze the use of our Site. Google Analytics is a web analytics website offered by Google that tracks and reports website traffic. Google uses the data collected to track and monitor the use of the site. This data is shared with other Google websites. Google may use the collected data to contextualize and personalize the ads of its own advertising network.
- You can opt-out of having made your activity on the Site available to Google Analytics by installing the Google Analytics opt-out browser add-on. The add-on prevents the Google Analytics JavaScript (ga.js, analytics.js, and dc.js) from sharing information with Google Analytics about visits activity.
- For more information on the privacy practices of Google, you can view their privacy policy by clicking here.
- Sendinblue
- We use Sendinblue to communicate with you via email, like when you subscribe to our newsletter. You can view their privacy policy by clicking here.
- Gravity Forms
- We use Gravity Forms to help build forms to voluntarily collect your information, like when you use our Contact Us page. You can view their privacy policy by clicking here.
- FundraiseUp and Virtuous
- BetterHelp and Online-Therapy.com
- You may see BetterHelp and Online-Therapy.com affiliate links on the site. As a BetterHelp Affiliate, we may receive compensation from BetterHelp or other sources if you purchase products or services through the affiliate links provided on the site. We will also always provide this disclosure near the affiliate link in order to be transparent with you. You can find BetterHelp’s privacy policy here and Online-Therapy.com's privacy policy here.
International Transfers of Personal Information
The personal information we collect is stored and/or processed in the United States, or where we or our partners, affiliates, and third-party providers maintain facilities.
The countries to which we store, process, or transfer your personal information may not have the same data protection laws as the country in which you initially provided the information. If we transfer your personal information to third parties in other countries: (i) We will perform those transfers in accordance with the requirements of applicable law; and (ii) We will protect the transferred personal information in accordance with this privacy policy.
Controlling Your Personal Information
Your choice: By providing personal information to us, you understand we will collect, hold, use, and disclose your personal information in accordance with this privacy policy. If you choose not to disclose your personal information, it may affect your use of the site or the products and/or services offered on or through it.
Information from third parties: If we receive personal information about you from a third party, we will protect it as set out in this privacy policy. If you are a third party providing personal information about somebody else, you represent and warrant that you have such person’s consent to provide the personal information to us.
Marketing permission: If you have previously agreed to us using your personal information for direct marketing purposes, you may change your mind at any time by contacting us using the details below with “General Privacy Request” in the subject line.
Access: You may request details of the personal information that we hold about you by contacting us using the details below with “General Privacy Request” in the subject line.
Correction: If you believe that any information we hold about you is inaccurate, out of date, incomplete, irrelevant, or misleading, please contact us using the details provided below with “General Privacy Request” in the subject line. We will take reasonable steps to correct any information found to be inaccurate, incomplete, misleading, or out of date.
Non-discrimination: We will not discriminate against you for exercising any of your rights over your personal information. Unless your personal information is required to provide you with a particular service or offer (for example providing user support), We will not deny you goods or services and/or charge you different prices or rates for goods or services, including through granting discounts or other benefits, or imposing penalties, or provide you with a different level or quality of goods or services.
Notification of data breaches: We will comply with laws applicable to us in respect of any data breach.
Complaints: If you believe that we have breached a relevant data protection law and wish to make a complaint, please contact us using the details below and provide us with full details of the alleged breach with “General Privacy Request” in the subject line. We will promptly investigate your complaint and respond to you, in writing, setting out the outcome of our investigation and the steps we will take to deal with your complaint. You may also have the right to contact a regulatory body or data protection authority in relation to your complaint.
Unsubscribe: To unsubscribe from our email database or opt-out of communications (including marketing communications), please contact us using the details provided in this Privacy Policy with “General Privacy Request” in the subject line, or opt-out using the opt-out facilities provided in the communication. We may need to request specific information from you to help us confirm your identity.
Use of Cookies
We use “cookies” to collect information about you and your activity across the Site. A cookie is a small piece of data that the site stores on your computer, and accesses each time you visit, so we can understand how you use the site. This helps us serve you content based on preferences you have specified. You may decline cookies from the site if your browser permits. Your browser may allow you to activate settings to refuse the setting of all or some cookies. If you decline cookies, you may still use the site, but you may not be able to use some portions of the site.
Please refer to Our Cookie Policy for more information.
Business Transfers
If we or our assets are acquired, or in the unlikely event that we go out of business or enter bankruptcy, we would include data, including your personal information, among the assets transferred to any parties who acquire us. You acknowledge that such transfers may occur, and that any parties who acquire us may, to the extent permitted by applicable law, continue to use your personal information according to this policy, which they will be required to assume as it is the basis for any ownership or use rights we have over such information.
Limits of Our Policy
In the event the site contains links to third-party sites and services, please be aware that those sites and services have their own privacy policies. After following a link to any third-party content, you should read their posted privacy policy information about how they collect and use personal information. This Privacy Policy does not apply to any of your activities after you leave the site. Please be aware that we have no control over the content and policies of those sites, and cannot accept responsibility or liability for their respective privacy practices.
Changes to This Policy
At our discretion, we may change our privacy policy to reflect updates to our business processes, current acceptable practices, or legislative or regulatory changes. If we decide to change this privacy policy, we will post the changes here at the same link by which you are accessing this privacy policy.
If required by law, we will get your permission or give you the opportunity to opt in to or opt out of, as applicable, any new uses of your personal information.
Additional Disclosures for Australian Privacy Act Compliance (AU)
International Transfers of Personal Information
Where the disclosure of your personal information is solely subject to Australian privacy laws, you acknowledge that some third parties may not be regulated by the Privacy Act and the Australian Privacy Principles in the Privacy Act. You acknowledge that if any such third party engages in any act or practice that contravenes the Australian Privacy Principles, it would not be accountable under the Privacy Act, and you will not be able to seek redress under the Privacy Act.
Additional Disclosures for General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Compliance (EU)
Data Controller / Data Processor
The GDPR distinguishes between organizations that process personal information for their own purposes (known as “data controllers”) and organizations that process personal information on behalf of other organizations (known as “data processors”). HelpGuide, located at the address provided in the Contact Us section, is a Data Controller with respect to the personal information you provide to us.
Legal Bases for Processing Your Personal Information
We will only collect and use your personal information when we have a legal right to do so. In which case, we will collect and use your personal information lawfully, fairly, and in a transparent manner. If we seek your consent to process your personal information, and you are under 16 years of age, we will seek your parent or legal guardian’s consent to process your personal information for that specific purpose.
Our lawful bases depend on the services you use and how you use them. This means we only collect and use your information on the following grounds:
Consent From You
Where you give us consent to collect and use your personal information for a specific purpose. You may withdraw your consent at any time using the facilities we provide; however this will not affect any use of your information that has already taken place. You may consent to providing your email address for the purpose of receiving marketing emails from us. While you may unsubscribe at any time, we cannot recall any email we have already sent. If you have any further inquiries about how to withdraw your consent, please feel free to inquire using the details provided in the Contact Us section of this privacy policy.
Performance of a Contract or Transaction
Where you have entered into a contract or transaction with us, or in order to take preparatory steps prior to our entering into a contract or transaction with you. For example, if you contact us with an inquiry, we may require personal information such as your name and contact details in order to respond.
Our Legitimate Interests
Where we assess it is necessary for our legitimate interests, such as for us to provide, operate, improve and communicate our services. We consider our legitimate interests to include research and development, understanding our audience, marketing and promoting our services, measures taken to operate our services efficiently, marketing analysis, and measures taken to protect our legal rights and interests.
Compliance with Law
In some cases, we may have a legal obligation to use or keep your personal information. Such cases may include (but are not limited to) court orders, criminal investigations, government requests, and regulatory obligations. If you have any further inquiries about how we retain personal information in order to comply with the law, please feel free to inquire using the details provided in the Contact Us section of this privacy policy.
International Transfers Outside of the European Economic Area (EEA)
We will ensure that any transfer of personal information from countries in the European Economic Area (EEA) to countries outside the EEA will be protected by appropriate safeguards, for example by using standard data protection clauses approved by the European Commission, or the use of binding corporate rules or other legally accepted means.
Your Rights and Controlling Your Personal Information
Subject to certain conditions, you have the following rights:
Right to Access: You have the right to request copies of your personal data from us. We may charge you a small fee for this service.
Right to Rectification: You have the right to request us to correct information you believe is inaccurate. You also have the right to request that we complete information that you believe is incomplete.
Right to Erasure: You may have a right to request that we delete the personal information we hold about you at any time, and we will take reasonable steps to delete your personal information from our current records. If you ask us to delete your personal information, we will let you know how the deletion affects your use of the site or products and services. There may be exceptions to this right for specific legal reasons which, if applicable, we will set out for you in response to your request.
Restrict: You have the right to request that we restrict the processing of your personal information if (i) you are concerned about the accuracy of your personal information; (ii) you believe your personal information has been unlawfully processed; (iii) you need us to maintain the personal information solely for the purpose of a legal claim; or (iv) we are in the process of considering your objection in relation to processing on the basis of legitimate interests.
Objecting to processing: You have the right to object to the processing of your personal information that is based on our legitimate interests or public interest. If this is done, we must provide compelling legitimate grounds for the processing which overrides your interests, rights, and freedoms, in order to proceed with the processing of your personal information.
Data portability: You have the right to request a copy of the personal information you have provided to us to be provided to you and/or another data controller, and that the format of such information be in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format.
We have 30 days to respond to you if you make a request. To exercise any of these rights please contact us below with “GDPR Request” in the subject line:
Privacy Compliance Team
[email protected]
Or write to us:
Privacy Compliance Team
515 S. Flower St, Suite 1800
Los Angeles, CA, 90071
Additional Disclosures for California Compliance (US)
Under California’s “Shine the Light” law, California Civil Code Section 1798.83, if you are a California resident California and your business relationship with us is mainly for personal, family, or household purposes, you may ask us about the information we release to other organizations for their marketing purposes.
To make such a request, please contact us via email at [email protected] with “Request for California privacy information” in the subject line. You may make this type of request once every calendar year. We will email you a list of categories of personal information we revealed to other organizations for their marketing purposes in the last calendar year, along with their names and addresses. Not all personal information shared in this way is covered by Section 1798.83 of the California Civil Code.
Do Not Track
Some browsers have a “Do Not Track” feature that lets you tell websites that you do not want to have your online activities tracked. At this time, we do not respond to browser “Do Not Track” signals.
We adhere to the standards outlined in this privacy policy, ensuring we collect and process personal information lawfully, fairly, transparently, and with legitimate, legal reasons for doing so.
Contact Us
For any questions or concerns regarding Your privacy, You may contact us by emailing:
Privacy Compliance Team
[email protected]