This Notice is provided as a courtesy for residents of California. The Hidden Cause is established in the United Kingdom; our primary Privacy Policy, governed by the UK GDPR, applies to all users.

About This Notice

This California Privacy Notice (“Notice”) applies to California residents (“consumers”) and describes how The Hidden Cause collects, uses, discloses, and protects personal information under the California Consumer Privacy Act, as amended by the California Privacy Rights Act (together, the “CCPA”). It also serves as our Notice at Collection. This Notice supplements our Privacy Policy; where this Notice and the Privacy Policy conflict as to California residents, this Notice controls.

Who We Are

The Hidden Cause is the business responsible for the personal information described in this Notice.

Email: privacy@thehiddencause.com
Address: 126 Upwell Road, March, Cambridgeshire, PE15 0DE, United Kingdom

Categories of Personal Information We Collect

In the past 12 months we have collected, or may collect, the following categories of personal information as defined by the CCPA. During our current pre-launch phase we mainly collect email addresses (and optionally a first name) from visitors who sign up to be notified at launch.

Identifiers (such as name, email address, and online identifiers) — collected.
Customer records information under Cal. Civ. Code § 1798.80 (such as account, billing, and contact details) — collected when you create an account or make a purchase.
Commercial information (such as products or services purchased or considered, and booking details) — collected when you buy or book.
Internet or other electronic network activity (such as interactions with our website and cookie consent preferences) — collected.
Records of transcripts and other downloadable materials opened from a personalized link sent to you by email — collected where you are on our email list.
Geolocation data (approximate location inferred from IP address, for example to apply the correct privacy regime) — collected.
Audio, electronic, or similar information (such as the content of support messages and our responses) — collected when you contact us.
Inferences drawn from the above (such as preferences used to tailor communications you have consented to) — may be collected.

We do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 16 years of age.

Sensitive Personal Information

We do not seek to collect sensitive personal information as defined by the CCPA. Account credentials (such as a password used to access an account) may be treated as sensitive personal information; where we handle any such information, we use it only for the purposes permitted by the CCPA (such as providing the service you requested) and not to infer characteristics about you.

Sources of Personal Information

We collect personal information directly from you (for example, when you sign up, create an account, make a purchase, book a session, or contact us) and automatically from your device and browser when you use our website (for example, through cookies and similar technologies you have consented to).

How We Use Personal Information

We use personal information for the following business purposes:

To send launch notifications, newsletters, and marketing where you have consented, and to let you manage those preferences.
To record which transcripts and other downloadable materials you open from a personalized link in our emails, so that we know which material is valued and what to produce next.
To create and manage your account and community membership.
To process transactions and deliver our educational programs, bookings, consulting, and digital products.
To provide customer support and respond to your messages.
To operate, secure, and improve our website, and to detect and prevent fraud or misuse.
To comply with legal obligations and enforce our terms.

How We Disclose Personal Information

We disclose personal information to service providers and contractors who process it on our behalf and for our business purposes only, under written contracts that restrict their use of the information. These include providers of website hosting, email delivery, customer relationship management, customer support, appointment and video conferencing, and payment processing. We may also disclose personal information where required by law or to protect our rights.

Sale or Sharing of Personal Information

We do not sell personal information, and we do not share personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising, as those terms are defined by the CCPA. We have not sold or shared the personal information of consumers, including minors under 16, in the past 12 months. We honor opt-out preference signals, including the Global Privacy Control (GPC), transmitted by your browser.

Retention

We keep personal information only as long as necessary for the purposes described in this Notice or as required by law. As general guidance, order and transaction records are retained for approximately 7 years to meet tax and accounting obligations, support communications for approximately 2 years, and marketing subscription data until you unsubscribe or ask us to delete it, subject to legal retention requirements.

Your California Privacy Rights

Subject to certain exceptions, California residents have the right to:

Know and access the categories and specific pieces of personal information we have collected about you, the sources, the purposes, and the categories of third parties to whom we disclose it.
Delete personal information we have collected from you.
Correct inaccurate personal information we maintain about you.
Opt out of the sale or sharing of personal information (note that we do not sell or share personal information).
Limit the use and disclosure of sensitive personal information (note that we do not use sensitive personal information for purposes that trigger this right).
Not receive discriminatory treatment for exercising any of these rights.

How to Exercise Your Rights

You can exercise your rights by emailing privacy@thehiddencause.com or by using our Privacy Center at https://thehiddencause.com/privacy-center/. If you use a browser that transmits the Global Privacy Control (GPC), we will treat it as a valid opt-out request for that browser and device. We will confirm receipt of your request and respond within the timeframes required by the CCPA (generally within 45 days, with the possibility of an extension where permitted).

Verification and Authorized Agents

To protect your information, we will take reasonable steps to verify your identity before fulfilling a request, which may include confirming information we already hold about you. You may use an authorized agent to submit a request on your behalf; we may require written authorization and verification of both your identity and the agent’s authority.

Contact Us

If you have questions about this Notice or our privacy practices, contact us at privacy@thehiddencause.com, or write to us at 126 Upwell Road, March, Cambridgeshire, PE15 0DE, United Kingdom.

Changes to This Notice

We may update this Notice from time to time. When we do, we will revise the “Last updated” date above and, where appropriate, provide additional notice.