Privacy Policy for The Systematic Thinker

Effective Date: November 16, 2025

This Privacy Policy describes how The Systematic Thinker Ltd. ("we," "us," or "our") collects, uses, processes, and protects your personal information when you visit and use The Systematic Thinker website and its associated courses and services (collectively, the "Service").

We are committed to protecting your privacy and handling your personal data in a transparent and secure manner.

1. Information We Collect

We collect various types of information from and about users of our Service, including:

1.1. Personal Information You Provide Directly:

Account Information: When you register for an account, we collect information such as your name, email address, and password. If you purchase a course, we also collect billing address and payment information.
Communication Information: If you contact us directly (e.g., customer support, inquiries), we may collect the content of your messages, your email address, and any other information you choose to provide.
Course Interaction Data: Information related to your progress through the courses, quiz results, assignments, and any feedback you provide.
User-Generated Content (UGC): Any posts, comments, or other content you submit to community areas of the Service.
Payment Information: While we use third-party payment processors (e.g., Stripe, PayPal), we may receive limited payment information (e.g., last four digits of your card, expiration date) to confirm transactions. Full payment card details are processed and stored by the payment processor.

1.2. Information Collected Automatically (Usage Data):

Device Information: Information about the device you use to access the Service (e.g., IP address, browser type, operating system, device identifiers).
Usage Data: Details of your access to and use of the Service, including traffic data, location data, logs, and other communication data and the resources that you access and use on the Service. This may include pages viewed, time spent on pages, and navigation paths.
Cookies and Tracking Technologies: We use cookies and similar tracking technologies (like web beacons and pixels) to track activity on our Service and hold certain information. These are used to enhance your experience, analyze trends, administer the website, track users’ movements around the website, and gather demographic information about our user base as a whole.

2. How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect for various purposes, primarily to provide, maintain, and improve our Service, and to communicate with you. Your information will remain private and within the business realm of The Systematic Thinker. We will not share your personal information with any third parties for their marketing or commercial purposes.

Specific uses include:

2.1. To Provide and Maintain the Service:

To create and manage your account.
To Authenticate You: To process your login credentials (email and password) and secure your access to the Service.
To process your transactions and deliver the courses you purchase.
To provide customer support and respond to your inquiries.
To ensure the functionality and security of the Service.

2.2. To Improve and Personalize the Service:

To understand how users interact with our courses and content, allowing us to enhance the learning experience.
To develop new features, content, and services.
To personalize your experience, such as recommending relevant content or tracking your progress.

2.3. For Communication:

To send you important notices, updates, and administrative messages related to your account or courses.
To Send Transactional Emails: To send you essential, service-related communications such as welcome emails when you register, password reset confirmations, and security alerts.
To send you marketing communications (e.g., newsletters), but only if you have explicitly consented to receive them. You can opt-out at any time.

2.4. For Analytics and Research:

To monitor and analyze usage and activity trends to better understand our audience and improve our marketing efforts.
To conduct research and analysis to improve our systematic thinking methodologies and course effectiveness.

2.5. For Legal and Security Purposes:

To detect, prevent, and address technical issues, fraud, or security incidents.
To Moderate the Community: To monitor, review, and act upon User-Generated Content (UGC) to enforce our Community Guidelines and comply with legal obligations, including the Online Safety Act.
To comply with legal obligations and enforce our Terms and Conditions.

3. Data Sharing and Disclosure

We are committed to keeping your personal information private and within the business realm of The Systematic Thinker. We will not sell, rent, or lease your personal information to third parties.

We may share your information only in the following limited circumstances:

3.1. With Service Providers: We may share information with trusted third-party service providers who act as "data processors" on our behalf, such as:
- Google (Firebase): Our core infrastructure provider for database hosting (Firestore), authentication (Firebase Auth), and cloud functions.
- Google (Google Workspace/SMTP): We use Google's SMTP service to send transactional emails (like your welcome email). Your email address is processed by Google's servers for the purpose of delivery.
- Payment Processors (e.g., Stripe): For handling subscriptions. We do not store your credit card details.
3.2. For Legal Reasons: We may disclose your information if required to do so by law or in response to valid requests by public authorities (e.g., a court order or government agency), including compliance with the Online Safety Act.
3.3. In Case of Business Transfer: In the event of a merger, acquisition, or sale of all or a portion of our assets, your personal information may be transferred as part of that transaction. We will notify you via email and/or a prominent notice on our website.

4. User-Generated Content (UGC)

Any posts, comments, or other content you submit to our community ("User-Generated Content") is processed by our systems. By posting, you grant us a license to use, display, and moderate this content as described in our Terms of Service. This content may be visible to other users. Do not post any personal information you do not want to be made public.

5. Data Security

We implement reasonable security measures designed to protect your personal information from unauthorized access, use, alteration, or destruction. This includes storing passwords in a hashed format and securing API keys (like our email password) in Google's Secret Manager. However, no method of transmission over the Internet or electronic storage is 100% secure.

6. Your Data Protection Rights (GDPR)

Depending on your location, you may have the following rights regarding your personal data:

6.1. Right to Access: You have the right to request access to the personal data we hold about you.
6.2. Right to Rectification: You have the right to request that we correct any inaccurate or incomplete personal data.
6.3. Right to Erasure ("Right to be Forgotten"): You have the right to request that we delete your personal data.
6.4. Right to Restrict Processing: You have the right to request that we restrict the processing of your personal data.
6.5. Right to Data Portability: You have the right to request that we transfer the data that we have collected to another organization, or directly to you.
6.6. Right to Object: You have the right to object to our processing of your personal data.
6.7. Right to Withdraw Consent: If we are relying on your consent, you have the right to withdraw that consent at any time.

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us using the contact information provided below.

7. Cookies and Tracking Technologies

We use cookies and similar tracking technologies to track the activity on our Service and hold certain information. Cookies are files with a small amount of data which may include an anonymous unique identifier. You can instruct your browser to refuse all cookies or to indicate when a cookie is being sent. However, if you do not accept cookies, you may not be able to use some portions of our Service.

8. Third-Party Links

Our Service may contain links to other websites that are not operated by us. If you click on a third-party link, you will be directed to that third party's site. We strongly advise you to review the Privacy Policy of every site you visit. We have no control over and assume no responsibility for the content, privacy policies, or practices of any third-party sites or services.

9. Children's Privacy

Our Service is not intended for individuals under the age of 18, and we require all users to verify they are 18 or older upon signup. We do not knowingly collect personally identifiable information from anyone under the age of 18. If you are a parent or guardian and you are aware that your child has provided us with personal data, please contact us.

10. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update our Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of any changes by posting the new Privacy Policy on this page and updating the "Effective Date" at the top of this Privacy Policy. You are advised to review this Privacy Policy periodically for any changes.

11. Contact Us

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, please contact us:

By email: support@thesystematicthinker.co.uk