1. Introduction

At The Alaika Group, we are a passionate team focused on leveraging technology and art to create sustainable impact. We are committed to protecting the privacy and security of our website visitors and users. This Privacy Policy outlines how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you visit our website, engage with our services, or interact with our content.

By using our website, you agree to the collection and use of information in accordance with this policy.

2. Information We Collect

We collect information primarily through direct interactions with our website forms and through the use of cookies. We do not employ complex tracking technologies or collect sensitive personal data without your explicit consent.

2.1. Information You Provide Directly

When you interact with our forms, such as inquiry forms, newsletter subscriptions, or donation messages, you may provide us with the following personal information:

• Name: To address you personally.
• Email Address: For communication and sending requested information (e.g., newsletter).
• Phone Number: (Optional) For direct contact regarding inquiries or donations.
• Message Content: Details of your inquiry, donation interest, or feedback.
• Pre-order Details: For shop items, we securely collect pre-order details to facilitate communication and confirmation.

Please note that for most form submissions (e.g., contact, donation inquiries), the details you provide are sent directly to our designated email addresses for privacy and efficient handling, rather than being stored in our primary website database.

2.2. Information Collected Automatically (Cookies & Analytics)

We use cookies and similar technologies to enhance your browsing experience, analyze site usage, and for security purposes. The information collected automatically includes:

• Device Identifier: A unique identifier (e.g., a hashed IP address and user agent) stored in a cookie. This helps us recognize your device for purposes like ensuring unique newsletter subscriptions, tracking post views/likes/comments, and for general site analytics. Your IP address is pseudonymized through advanced hashing technologies before storage on our secure servers, ensuring your direct IP is not retained.
• Browser Type: To optimize site compatibility.
• Pages Visited and Time Spent: For understanding site popularity and user engagement.
• Referrer URL: The website you came from.

These cookies are primarily for improving user experience and internal analytics. Visitor identifying cookies are stored for only one week and are then automatically deleted by our system to further protect your privacy.

3. How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect for the following purposes:

• To respond to your inquiries and provide the services you request (e.g., pre-order confirmations, donation follow-ups).
• To send you newsletters and updates, if you have subscribed.
• To analyze website usage and improve our content, services, and user experience.
• To maintain the security and integrity of our website.
• To ensure unique interactions (e.g., one newsletter subscription per device, unique views/likes/comments).
• For internal record-keeping and administrative purposes.

We do not collect sensitive personal information such as passwords, health information, racial origin, or precise geographical location of site visitors.

4. Data Retention

We retain your personal information only for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes for which it was collected, including for the purposes of satisfying any legal, accounting, or reporting requirements.

• Form submission details sent to email are retained as per our email retention policies.
• Visitor identifying cookies are automatically deleted after one week.
• Pre-order details are securely stored for the duration of the order fulfillment and necessary record-keeping.
• AI conversation history can be cleared by the user via the AI settings interface.

5. Data Security

We are committed to ensuring that your information is secure. We implement robust technical and organizational measures to protect the data we collect against unauthorized access, alteration, disclosure, or destruction. These measures include:

• Secure Servers: All collected data is stored and processed on secure servers.
• Data Hashing: IP addresses collected for analytics and cookie purposes are pseudonymized through hashing.
• Access Control: Access to collected data is strictly controlled and limited to authorized personnel within our organization who require access for legitimate business purposes.
• Encryption: We use robust encryption protocols for data transmission where applicable.

6. Data Sharing and Third Parties

We value your privacy. We do not sell, trade, or otherwise transfer your personally identifiable information to outside parties. This does not include trusted third parties who assist us in operating our website, conducting our business, or serving you, so long as those parties agree to keep this information confidential. We may also release your information when we believe release is appropriate to comply with the law, enforce our site policies, or protect ours or others' rights, property, or safety.

7. Cookies and Your Choices

Most web browsers are set to accept cookies by default. If you prefer, you can usually choose to set your browser to remove cookies and to reject cookies. If you choose to remove cookies or reject cookies, this could affect certain features or services of our website.

As mentioned, our visitor identifying cookies are automatically deleted after one week.

8. Your Choices and Rights

We respect your control over your information:

• Newsletter Unsubscription: If you have subscribed to our newsletter, you can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the "unsubscribe" link provided in the footer of every newsletter email we send.
• Halo AI Chat History: If you use our AI assistant, Halo AI, you have the option to clear your conversation history via the AI settings located on the upper right side of the chat interface.

Please note that our public-facing website does not feature a user login system for general visitors, further enhancing privacy by not requiring personal accounts for browsing or most interactions.

9. Children's Privacy

Our website is not intended for children under the age of 13. We comply with relevant children's privacy laws and do not knowingly collect personally identifiable information from children under 13. If we become aware that we have inadvertently received personal information from a child under the age of 13, we will delete such information from our records.

10. 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 policy. 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.