Privacy Policy
Plain-language summary: We collect only the information needed to provide our services and respond to your inquiries. We do not sell your personal data. We do not share it with advertisers. You have the right to access, correct, or delete your data at any time by contacting us at privacy@leveredgemedia.com.
Section 01
Overview
Leveredge Media ("we," "us," or "our") operates the website at leveredgemedia.com and provides local SEO, social media management, and video editing services to businesses in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, and Australia.
This Privacy Policy explains what personal information we collect when you visit our website or use our services, why we collect it, how we use it, and what rights you have over it. It applies to all visitors, prospective clients, and clients who interact with us through our website, email, or any other communication channel.
This policy is written to satisfy the requirements of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) for visitors from the United Kingdom and European Union, the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) for visitors from California, the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) for visitors from Canada, and the Privacy Act 1988 for visitors from Australia.
By using our website or services, you acknowledge that you have read and understood this policy. If you do not agree with any part of it, please do not use our website or services.
Section 02
Information We Collect
Information you provide directly
We collect information you give us when you fill in a form, book an audit call, send us an email, or otherwise communicate with us. This includes:
- Your full name
- Your email address
- Your business name and website URL
- Your phone number, if you choose to provide it
- The content of any messages or enquiries you send to us
- Payment and billing information, processed securely through our payment provider
- Any other information you choose to include in communications with us
Information collected automatically
When you visit our website, certain technical information is collected automatically by our hosting infrastructure and analytics tools. This includes:
- Your IP address and approximate geographic location derived from it
- The browser type and version you are using
- The operating system on your device
- The pages you visit on our site and the time spent on each
- The page you arrived from before visiting our site
- The date and time of your visit
- Device type and screen resolution
This information is collected through cookies, server logs, and third-party analytics tools described in the Cookies section below. Where possible, this data is aggregated and anonymised before it reaches us.
Information from third parties
In the course of providing our services, we may receive information about your business from publicly available sources such as Google Business Profile, social media platforms, and business directories. This information is used solely for the purpose of auditing and improving your online visibility and is handled according to this policy.
We do not collect the following
We do not collect sensitive personal data such as racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious beliefs, health information, biometric data, or financial account numbers beyond what is necessary for billing. We do not purchase or source contact lists. Every person in our system has had direct contact with us.
Section 03
How We Use Your Information
We use the information we collect for specific, legitimate business purposes only. We do not use your information in ways you would not reasonably expect.
To provide and manage our services
- Delivering the local SEO, social media, and video services you have engaged us for
- Communicating with you about your account, deliverables, and project status
- Processing payments and maintaining billing records
- Generating performance reports and analytics for your campaigns
To respond to enquiries
- Replying to your audit requests, questions, and messages
- Scheduling and conducting free audit calls
- Following up on proposals and service discussions
To improve our website and services
- Analysing how visitors use our website to identify areas for improvement
- Understanding which services and content are most relevant to our audience
- Testing changes to our website to improve performance and user experience
To meet legal and regulatory obligations
- Maintaining records as required by applicable tax and accounting law
- Responding to lawful requests from regulatory authorities
- Enforcing our terms of service where necessary
The legal basis for processing your personal data under GDPR is: contract performance for data necessary to deliver our services; legitimate interests for website analytics and business communications; and your consent for any optional marketing communications, which you may withdraw at any time.
Section 04
Sharing Your Information
We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information to any third party under any circumstances. We share your information only in the following limited situations:
Service providers
We use a small number of trusted third-party tools to operate our business. These providers process your data only on our behalf, under contractual obligations to protect it, and for no other purpose. They include:
Third-party tools we use
Website hosting (Hostinger), email communication (Google Workspace), calendar and scheduling tools, project management software, payment processing, and website analytics. We maintain a full list of sub-processors and can share it on request by emailing privacy@leveredgemedia.com.
Legal requirements
We may disclose your information if we are required to do so by law, court order, or government authority, or if we believe in good faith that such disclosure is necessary to protect the rights, property, or safety of Leveredge Media, our clients, or the public.
Business transfers
If Leveredge Media is involved in a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets, your information may be transferred as part of that transaction. We will notify you via email and a prominent notice on our website before your information becomes subject to a different privacy policy.
With your explicit consent
We may share your information with third parties where you have given us specific, informed consent to do so. You may withdraw that consent at any time by contacting us.
Section 05
Cookies and Tracking Technologies
Our website uses cookies and similar technologies to function properly and to help us understand how visitors interact with the site. A cookie is a small text file stored on your device by your browser.
Essential cookies
These cookies are necessary for the website to function. They cannot be disabled without breaking core functionality. They do not collect personal information and are not used for marketing. This includes session cookies that keep you logged in and security tokens that protect form submissions.
Analytics cookies
We use analytics tools to understand aggregate traffic patterns and improve the website. Where possible, IP addresses are anonymised before data is processed. Analytics data is retained for a maximum of 26 months before being automatically deleted.
Managing cookies
You can control and delete cookies through your browser settings. Most browsers allow you to refuse new cookies, delete existing cookies, and configure alerts when cookies are set. Note that disabling certain cookies may affect the functionality of this website. Instructions for managing cookies in common browsers:
- Google Chrome: Settings, Privacy and Security, Cookies and other site data
- Mozilla Firefox: Options, Privacy and Security, Cookies and Site Data
- Apple Safari: Preferences, Privacy, Manage Website Data
- Microsoft Edge: Settings, Cookies and site permissions, Cookies and site data
Do Not Track
Some browsers include a Do Not Track feature that signals websites you visit that you do not want your online activity tracked. Our website currently does not alter its behaviour in response to Do Not Track signals, though we aim to implement this in a future update.
Section 06
Data Retention
We retain personal information only for as long as is necessary for the purposes described in this policy, or as required by law. Our standard retention periods are as follows:
Retention schedule
Audit enquiries that did not convert to clients: 12 months from the date of last contact, then securely deleted.
Active client records: Retained for the duration of the engagement plus 7 years to satisfy accounting and tax obligations in the jurisdictions we operate in.
Payment records: Retained for 7 years in accordance with financial record-keeping requirements.
Website analytics data: Aggregated data retained for up to 26 months. Raw session data is anonymised after 14 months.
Email correspondence: Retained for 3 years from the date of last meaningful interaction, then deleted unless a legal obligation requires longer retention.
When data is no longer required, it is deleted from our systems and from the systems of any sub-processors who hold it on our behalf. You may request early deletion of your data at any time as described in the Your Rights section.
Section 07
Your Rights
Depending on your location, you have a number of rights over the personal information we hold about you. We take these rights seriously and will respond to any request within 30 days.
Right to Access
You can request a copy of all personal data we hold about you, including where it came from and how it is used.
Right to Correction
If any information we hold about you is inaccurate or incomplete, you have the right to have it corrected or updated.
Right to Deletion
You can ask us to delete your personal data. We will do so unless we are required to retain it by law or for legitimate business purposes such as active billing records.
Right to Restriction
You can ask us to limit how we use your data, for example while a dispute about its accuracy is resolved.
Right to Portability
You can request your data in a structured, machine-readable format to transfer to another service provider.
Right to Object
You can object to processing based on legitimate interests, including any profiling or direct marketing activities.
Right to Withdraw Consent
Where processing is based on your consent, you can withdraw it at any time without affecting the legality of processing before withdrawal.
Right to Complain
If you are unhappy with how we handle your data, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the relevant supervisory authority in your country.
To exercise any of these rights, email us at privacy@leveredgemedia.com with a description of your request. We may need to verify your identity before processing the request. We will respond within 30 days. Complex requests may take up to 90 days, in which case we will notify you of the extended timeline within the initial 30-day window.
Supervisory authorities by region
- United Kingdom: Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) at ico.org.uk
- European Union: Your national data protection authority
- United States (California): California Privacy Protection Agency (CPPA)
- Canada: Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada at priv.gc.ca
- Australia: Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) at oaic.gov.au
Section 08
International Data Transfers
Leveredge Media operates as a remote agency serving clients across multiple countries. Your personal information may be transferred to and processed in countries other than the one in which you reside. These transfers occur when our cloud-based tools and service providers store or process data in their respective infrastructure locations.
Where data is transferred from the United Kingdom or European Economic Area to a country not deemed to provide an adequate level of data protection, we rely on Standard Contractual Clauses approved by the relevant supervisory authority to ensure your data remains protected to the same standard it would be in your home country.
For Canadian residents, data transfers to countries outside Canada are conducted in accordance with PIPEDA and include contractual protections equivalent to those required under Canadian law.
If you would like more information about the specific safeguards in place for international transfers of your data, please contact us at privacy@leveredgemedia.com.
Section 09
Children's Privacy
Our website and services are directed exclusively at businesses and business professionals. We do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under the age of 16.
If you believe we have inadvertently collected information from a child under 16, please contact us immediately at privacy@leveredgemedia.com and we will delete that information as quickly as possible.
Section 10
Security
We take the security of your personal information seriously and implement appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect it against unauthorised access, disclosure, alteration, or destruction.
Our security measures include:
- HTTPS encryption on all pages of our website
- Access controls that restrict data to authorised team members only on a need-to-know basis
- Regular review of access permissions as team composition changes
- Use of reputable, security-certified third-party service providers for hosting, email, and payments
- Two-factor authentication on all accounts that hold client data
No method of data transmission or storage is completely secure. While we work hard to protect your information, we cannot guarantee absolute security. In the event of a data breach that is likely to result in a risk to your rights and freedoms, we will notify you and the relevant supervisory authority within 72 hours of becoming aware of it, as required by applicable law.
Section 11
Changes to This Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, the services we offer, or applicable legal requirements. When we make changes, we will update the "Last Updated" date at the top of this page.
For significant changes that affect your rights or how we handle your personal information, we will provide a more prominent notice, which may include an email to active clients or a notification banner on our website, at least 30 days before the changes take effect.
We encourage you to review this policy periodically. Your continued use of our website or services after any changes are published constitutes your acceptance of the updated policy.
Section 12
Contact Us
If you have questions about this Privacy Policy, want to exercise any of your rights, or have a concern about how we handle your personal information, please reach out to us directly. We are committed to resolving any issues promptly and transparently.
Privacy enquiries
We aim to respond to all privacy-related requests within 5 business days and to resolve them within 30 days.
This policy was written for Leveredge Media and reflects our actual data practices. It does not constitute legal advice. If you require legal guidance on data protection compliance for your own business, please consult a qualified legal professional in your jurisdiction.