Privacy & Data Protection Policy

Academy of Chinese Swordsmanship
Operated by the Great River Daoist Center

Effective Date: September 1, 2025

1. Introduction

We respect your privacy and are committed to protecting your personal data. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, and protect your data, and outlines your rights under laws including the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR), the EU GDPR, and the California Consumer Privacy Rights Act (CPRA).

This policy applies to all visitors, users, and customers of:

- https://www.chineseswordacademy.com

- our learning platform, forums, and email communications

By accessing or using our services, you consent to the practices described here.

2. Who We Are

The Academy of Chinese Swordsmanship is a trading name of the Great River Daoist Center, a US-based educational organisation.

Contact Details:
Email: [email protected]
Mailing Address: 3543 Marvin Street, Annandale, VA 22003
Data Controller: Great River Daoist Center

3. What Personal Data We Collect

We collect the following types of personal information:

A. Data you provide directly:

Name

Email address

Billing address

Phone number (optional)

Payment details (processed securely via Stripe)

Responses to surveys or feedback forms

Information you share in our forums, comments, or via support requests

B. Data we collect automatically:

IP address

Browser type and version

Time zone setting

Device information

Usage data (e.g. which pages you visit, time spent)

Cookies and tracking pixels (for analytics and advertising)

C. Special Category Data:

We do not knowingly collect or store special category data (e.g. health, biometric, or sensitive personal data).

4. How We Use Your Data

We process your personal data to:

Deliver online courses and membership content

Manage subscriptions and payments

Send transactional emails (receipts, login details, updates)

Provide customer service and respond to enquiries

Offer live webinars and group sessions

Improve our services and content through analytics

Comply with legal and tax obligations

Send marketing communications (if you opt in)

5. Legal Bases for Processing (GDPR Compliance)

We process your data under one or more of the following legal bases:

Contractual necessity: To provide services you signed up for.

Consent: For email marketing, tracking, or optional data collection.

Legal obligation: Tax, accounting, or regulatory requirements.

Legitimate interest: Improving services, fraud prevention, internal analytics.

You may withdraw consent at any time.

6. How We Share Your Data

We do not sell your data. We may share it with trusted third parties strictly for operational purposes:

Payment processors: Stripe, PayPal

Course platform: MemberScript.io

Email services: Mailgun (via Kartra or GoHighLevel)

Analytics: Google Analytics, Facebook (Meta) Conversion API

CRM & Automations: GoHighLevel, Zapier

Forum/Community Platform: Membership.io

All providers are vetted for GDPR/CPRA compliance and process your data under contract.

7. International Transfers

If you are located in the UK, EU or other regions with data collection laws, please note that we may transfer your data to the United States or other jurisdictions where our service providers are located.

We ensure adequate safeguards are in place via:

Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs)

Data Processing Agreements (DPAs)

8. Your Data Rights

Depending on your jurisdiction, you have the following rights:

Under UK & EU GDPR:

Right to access your data

Right to rectification

Right to erasure (“right to be forgotten”)

Right to restrict processing

Right to object to processing

Right to data portability

Under California CPRA:

Right to know what personal info is collected

Right to delete your personal data

Right to opt out of “sales” of data

Right to non-discrimination for exercising privacy rights

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at: [email protected]

9. Cookies & Tracking Technologies

We use cookies and similar technologies for:

Site functionality (logins, video playback)

Analytics (Google Analytics)

Marketing (Facebook Pixel, retargeting)

You can manage cookie preferences via the banner on our site or through your browser settings.

We do not set non-essential cookies without your explicit consent (GDPR compliance).

10. Email Marketing

We will only send promotional emails if you’ve opted in (e.g. by downloading a free trial or guide). You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in any email or contacting us directly.

Transactional emails related to purchases, logins, or course updates are mandatory for service delivery and not subject to opt-out.

11. Data Retention

We retain your data only as long as necessary to:

Deliver the services you’ve signed up for

Comply with our legal obligations (e.g. tax/accounting)

Resolve disputes and enforce agreements

Inactive user data is periodically reviewed and securely deleted.

12. Children’s Privacy

Our services are not intended for users under the age of 16. We do not knowingly collect data from children. If we learn that we’ve inadvertently collected such data, we will delete it immediately.

13. Data Security

We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your data, including:

Secure servers

SSL encryption

Role-based access

Routine data backups

However, no method of transmission is 100% secure.

14. Your Right to Complain

If you believe we’ve mishandled your data, you have the right to lodge a complaint with:

The UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO): https://ico.org.uk

Your local EU Data Protection Authority

The California Privacy Protection Agency (CPPA)

We encourage you to contact us first so we can resolve the issue.

15. Changes to This Policy

We may update this policy from time to time. You’ll be notified via email or a notice on our site. Please review it periodically.

16. Contact Us

If you have any questions about this policy or wish to exercise your data rights, please contact:

Academy of Chinese Swordsmanship
Email: [email protected]
Data Controller: Great River Daoist Center
Address: 3543 Marvin Street, Annandale, VA 22003