Privacy Policy

1. Information We Collect

Personal Information You Provide

We may collect personal information that you voluntarily provide when using our website or services, including:

• Contact information (name, email address, phone number, postal address)
• Account credentials (username, password)
• Payment information
• Communication preferences
• Correspondence you send to us
• Survey or feedback responses
• Job application materials

HiveGuard Device Data

When you use HiveGuard devices and cloud services, we collect and process:

• Environmental sensor data (temperature, humidity, barometric pressure)
• Acoustic analysis data (sound levels, frequency analysis, spectral features)
• Colony health assessments and behavioral classifications
• Device status information (battery level, connection status)
• Hive weight measurements (if weight sensor is connected)

This data is collected solely to provide the HiveGuard monitoring service. It does not contain personally identifiable information about individuals — it pertains to beehive conditions.

Information Automatically Collected

When you visit our website or use our services, we may automatically collect certain information about your device and usage, including:

• IP address
• Device type and operating system
• Browser type and settings
• Time and duration of visits
• Pages viewed and features used

2. How We Use Your Information

We may use the information we collect for various purposes, including to:

• Provide, maintain, and improve our website and services
• Process transactions and fulfill orders
• Send administrative information, such as order confirmations and service updates
• Respond to your comments, questions, and requests
• Communicate with you about products, services, offers, events, and promotions
• Monitor and analyze trends, usage, and activities in connection with our services
• Detect, investigate, and prevent fraudulent transactions and other illegal activities
• Personalize your experience and deliver content relevant to your interests
• Improve our marketing and promotional efforts
• Comply with legal obligations

3. Information Sharing and Disclosure

We may share your personal information in the following circumstances:

Service Providers

We may share your information with third-party vendors, consultants, and other service providers who perform services on our behalf, such as payment processing, data analysis, email delivery, hosting services, and customer service.

Business Transfers

If we are involved in a merger, acquisition, financing, reorganization, bankruptcy, or sale of company assets, your information may be transferred as part of that transaction.

Legal Requirements

We may disclose your information if we believe that such action is necessary to:

• Comply with applicable laws, regulations, legal processes, or governmental requests
• Enforce our Terms of Service, including investigating potential violations
• Detect, prevent, or address fraud, security, or technical issues
• Protect the rights, property, or safety of GaiaForge, our users, or others

With Your Consent

We may share your information with third parties when you have given us your consent to do so.

4. Data Retention

We will retain your personal information for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes outlined in this Privacy Policy, unless a longer retention period is required or permitted by law. We will also retain and use your information as necessary to comply with our legal obligations, resolve disputes, and enforce our agreements.

5. Data Security

We implement appropriate technical and organizational measures to protect the security of your personal information. However, please understand that no method of transmission over the Internet or method of electronic storage is 100% secure. While we strive to use commercially acceptable means to protect your personal information, we cannot guarantee its absolute security.

6. Your Privacy Rights

All Users

Regardless of your location, you have the right to:

• Access your personal data and hive monitoring data
• Export your data in machine-readable format (CSV) through the portal
• Request correction of inaccurate information
• Delete your account and all associated data

EU/EEA Users (GDPR)

Under the General Data Protection Regulation, you additionally have the right to:

• Data Portability (Art. 20) — Receive your data in a structured, commonly used format
• Erasure (Art. 17) — Request complete deletion of all personal data
• Restriction (Art. 18) — Limit how we process your data
• Objection (Art. 21) — Object to processing based on legitimate interests
• Lodge a Complaint — File a complaint with your local data protection authority

Legal basis for processing: We process your data based on contractual necessity (to provide the service you signed up for) and legitimate interest (to improve our services). We do not process data based on consent alone.

US Users

If you are a California resident, you have rights under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), including the right to know what personal information we collect, the right to delete it, and the right to opt out of the sale of personal information. We do not sell personal information.

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at privacy@gaiaforge.tech. We will respond within 30 days.

7. Children's Privacy

Our website and services are not directed to children under the age of 13 (or 16 in the European Economic Area). We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you are a parent or guardian and believe that your child has provided us with personal information, please contact us, and we will take steps to delete such information.

8. Cookies and Similar Technologies

We use cookies and similar tracking technologies to track activity on our website and to hold certain information. Cookies are files with a small amount of data that may include an anonymous unique identifier. Cookies are sent to your browser from a website and stored on your device.

We use cookies for various purposes, including to:

• Understand and save user preferences
• Compile aggregate data about site traffic and site interactions
• Enhance the user experience
• Track and analyze usage patterns

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 website.

9. Third-Party Links

Our website may contain links to third-party websites, products, or services. We are not responsible for the privacy practices or the content of these third-party sites. We encourage you to read the privacy policies of any third-party sites you visit.

10. International Data Transfers

GaiaForge operates from both the United States and the European Union. Your data may be processed in either jurisdiction depending on service availability. We ensure that any transfer of personal data complies with applicable data protection laws, including GDPR requirements for transfers outside the EEA.

We do not transfer your data to any third country without appropriate safeguards in place.

11. 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 "Last Updated" date at the top of this page. You are advised to review this Privacy Policy periodically for any changes. Changes to this Privacy Policy are effective when they are posted on this page.

12. Contact Us

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or our privacy practices, please contact us at: