Privacy Policy

Introduction and Scope

Pathery ("we," "us," or "our") operates pathery.com and provides personal finance education services. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and protect information about you when you visit our website, use our services, or interact with us in other ways. This policy applies to all users of our platform, whether you're browsing our content, enrolled in our learning programs, or engaging with our community features.

We recognize that financial education involves sensitive topics, and we take extra care to protect your privacy while delivering valuable learning experiences. By using our services, you agree to the collection and use of information in accordance with this policy.

Information We Collect

We collect several types of information to provide and improve our services:

• Personal identification information including your name, email address, phone number, and postal address when you register for our programs or contact us
• Financial learning preferences and goals you share to help us customize your educational experience
• Payment information when you purchase our courses or services, though we use secure third-party processors and don't store complete payment details
• Usage data including pages visited, time spent on content, course progress, and learning patterns to improve our educational offerings
• Device and technical information such as IP address, browser type, operating system, and mobile device identifiers
• Communication records when you contact our support team, participate in surveys, or engage with our community features
• Location information if you enable location services, which helps us provide region-specific financial education content

How We Use Your Information

Your information helps us deliver personalized financial education and maintain a secure learning environment. We use collected information for several important purposes:

• Providing access to our learning programs, tracking your progress, and delivering personalized course recommendations
• Processing payments, managing subscriptions, and handling billing inquiries related to our educational services
• Communicating with you about your account, course updates, new educational content, and responding to your questions
• Analyzing learning patterns and user behavior to improve our curriculum and develop new educational resources
• Ensuring platform security, preventing fraud, and protecting against unauthorized access to your account
• Complying with legal obligations and regulatory requirements related to financial education services
• Marketing our services and sharing relevant financial education content, with your permission

Information Sharing and Disclosure

We believe in keeping your information private and secure. We don't sell your personal data to third parties, but we may share information in specific circumstances:

• With trusted service providers who help us operate our platform, process payments, send communications, or analyze data - these partners are bound by strict confidentiality agreements
• When required by law, legal process, or government requests, or to protect our rights, property, or safety, or that of our users
• In connection with a business transaction such as a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets, where user information may be transferred as part of the transaction
• With your explicit consent for specific purposes, such as sharing success stories or testimonials
• In aggregated, anonymized form for research, analytics, or marketing purposes where individual users cannot be identified

Data Security and Protection

Protecting your information is a top priority. We implement comprehensive security measures to safeguard your data:

• Encryption of sensitive data both in transit and at rest using industry-standard protocols
• Regular security audits and vulnerability assessments to identify and address potential risks
• Access controls ensuring only authorized personnel can access your information on a need-to-know basis
• Secure payment processing through PCI-compliant third-party providers
• Regular backup procedures and disaster recovery plans to protect against data loss
• Employee training on data protection and privacy best practices
• Monitoring systems to detect and respond to potential security incidents

While we implement strong security measures, no system is completely secure. We encourage you to use strong passwords, enable two-factor authentication where available, and notify us immediately of any suspected unauthorized access to your account.

Your Privacy Rights and Choices

You have important rights regarding your personal information. We respect these rights and provide ways for you to exercise them:

• Access your personal information and request copies of data we hold about you
• Correct inaccurate or incomplete information in your profile or account
• Delete your account and associated personal information, subject to legal retention requirements
• Restrict certain processing activities or object to specific uses of your information
• Export your data in a portable format if you wish to transfer it elsewhere
• Withdraw consent for marketing communications while maintaining access to educational services
• Request information about how your data is processed and shared

To exercise these rights, contact us using the information provided below. We'll respond to your request within 30 days and may need to verify your identity to protect your privacy.

Data Retention and Deletion

We retain your information only as long as necessary to provide our services and comply with legal obligations. Our retention practices include:

• Account information is kept while your account is active and for up to 3 years after account closure
• Course progress and learning data is retained for 5 years to support ongoing educational services
• Payment records are kept for 7 years as required by financial regulations
• Communication records are retained for 2 years for customer service purposes
• Marketing consent records are kept until you withdraw consent, plus 1 year for compliance purposes
• Website analytics data is anonymized after 2 years and may be retained longer for research

When we delete your information, we remove it from our active systems and ensure it cannot be recovered, except where retention is required by law or for legitimate business purposes.

International Data Transfers

As a South African company, we primarily process and store data within South Africa. However, some of our service providers may be located in other countries. When we transfer your information internationally, we ensure appropriate safeguards are in place:

• We only work with providers in countries with adequate data protection laws or under specific legal frameworks
• We use standard contractual clauses and other legal mechanisms to protect transferred data
• We regularly review and assess the security practices of international service providers
• We maintain records of all international transfers and the legal basis for each transfer

Cookies and Tracking Technologies

We use cookies and similar technologies to enhance your learning experience and analyze platform usage. These technologies help us:

• Remember your login status and preferences across sessions
• Track your progress through courses and learning materials
• Analyze website traffic and user behavior to improve our services
• Provide personalized content recommendations
• Ensure website security and prevent fraudulent activity
• Deliver relevant marketing content based on your interests

You can control cookie settings through your browser preferences. However, disabling certain cookies may limit your ability to use some features of our platform. We provide detailed information about our cookie usage in our separate Cookie Policy.

Children's Privacy

Our services are designed for adults seeking financial education. We don't knowingly collect personal information from children under 18 years of age. If we discover that we've collected information from a child without proper parental consent, we'll delete that information immediately. Parents or guardians who believe their child has provided personal information to us should contact us using the details below.

Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy periodically to reflect changes in our practices, services, or legal requirements. When we make significant changes, we'll notify you by:

• Sending an email notification to your registered address
• Posting a prominent notice on our website
• Requesting your consent for material changes that affect how we use your information
• Providing advance notice for changes that may impact your rights

We encourage you to review this policy regularly to stay informed about how we protect your privacy. Your continued use of our services after policy changes indicates your acceptance of the updated terms.