Privacy Policy

1. Scope of This Policy

This policy covers the website operated by Metazoa LLC and the personal information we handle as a controller when you interact with that website or contact our team directly. It also describes, in general terms, how we handle information when we act as a processor on behalf of a client.

Where we act as a processor for a client, that client is the controller of the personal data and makes the primary decisions about its use. In those situations the client privacy notice governs, and our role is limited to processing on documented instructions. This policy does not replace any contract we have signed with a client, and where a contract is more specific, the contract prevails for that engagement.

This policy does not apply to third party websites that you may reach from links on our site. We do not control those sites and are not responsible for their content or their privacy practices. We encourage you to read the privacy notice of any site you visit before providing personal information to it.

2. Information We Collect

We collect information that you choose to provide and information that is generated automatically as you use our website. The categories below describe the types of personal information we may handle.

Contact information includes your name, email address, telephone number, company or institution name, and postal address when you submit them through our contact form or correspond with our team by email or telephone.

Inquiry content includes the subject and body of any message you send us, along with any files or documentation you choose to share as part of an initial conversation about a potential engagement.

Technical information includes the internet protocol address associated with your connection, the type of browser and device you use, the operating system, the pages you request, and the date and time of each request. This information is generated automatically by the systems that serve our website.

Usage information includes the manner in which you navigate our website, such as which pages you visit, how long you remain on them, and which links you follow. Where collected, this information helps us understand how the site is used and where it can be improved.

We do not knowingly collect sensitive categories of personal information through our public website, and we ask that you do not send sensitive personal data through the contact form. If your engagement requires us to handle sensitive information, we will agree on appropriate safeguards in writing before any such data is shared.

3. Sources of Information

We obtain personal information directly from you when you fill in the contact form, send us an email, call our office, or provide information during the course of a professional engagement.

We obtain technical and usage information automatically from the systems and software that operate our website, including the web server that records requests and any analytics tools we may use to understand aggregate traffic patterns.

We may obtain information from publicly available sources, such as a company website or a professional directory, when we need to verify the details of an organization that has approached us. We limit this activity to information that is relevant to a genuine business inquiry.

We do not purchase personal information from data brokers, and we do not acquire personal data from unrelated third parties for marketing purposes. Any information we hold about you can be traced to a direct interaction with our team or to the automatic operation of our website.

4. How We Use Information

We use personal information to respond to inquiries and to communicate with you about the services you ask about. This includes answering questions, providing proposals, arranging scoping conversations, and following up on messages you have sent us.

We use personal information to perform the services we have agreed to provide. This includes the classification, integration, curation and governance work described on our services page, and any related administrative activity such as scheduling and invoicing.

We use technical and usage information to operate, maintain and improve our website. This includes diagnosing faults, monitoring performance, protecting the site against abuse, and understanding which content is useful to visitors in aggregate.

We use personal information to meet our legal and accounting obligations, to maintain records of our professional work, and to establish, exercise or defend legal claims where necessary.

We use personal information to send you information you have requested about our services, and, where permitted, to share occasional updates that we believe are relevant to your inquiry. You may ask us to stop sending such updates at any time, and we will honor that request promptly.

5. Legal Bases for Processing

Where the law requires a legal basis for processing, we rely on one or more of the bases described below. The basis we rely on depends on the nature of the information and the purpose of the processing.

We process information to perform a contract when you engage us, or to take steps at your request before entering into a contract, such as preparing a proposal or discussing the scope of a potential engagement.

We process information based on our legitimate interests where those interests are not overridden by your rights. Our legitimate interests include responding to inquiries, operating and securing our website, understanding how the site is used, and maintaining records of our professional work.

We process information based on your consent where we have asked for it, such as when you ask to receive updates about our services. You may withdraw consent at any time, and withdrawal does not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out before the withdrawal.

We process information to comply with legal obligations, including tax, accounting and record keeping requirements that apply to a business operating in the United States. Where we process information to establish, exercise or defend legal claims, we rely on the applicable legal basis for that purpose.

6. Cookies and Similar Technologies

Our website may use cookies and similar technologies to support basic functions and to understand aggregate usage. A cookie is a small file placed on your device that allows a website to recognize your browser on later visits.

We use strictly necessary cookies where they are required for the website to function correctly, such as remembering a preference you have set during a session. These cookies do not track you across unrelated websites.

We may use analytics cookies to collect aggregate information about how visitors use the site, such as which pages are most frequently viewed. Where we use analytics, we configure it to minimize the collection of personal information and to avoid identifying individual visitors wherever possible.

You can control cookies through your browser settings. Most browsers allow you to refuse cookies, delete existing cookies, or alert you when a cookie is set. Refusing cookies may affect the functionality of some parts of the website, but it will not prevent you from reading the pages or contacting us.

7. How We Share Information

We do not sell personal information. We do not rent, trade or otherwise disclose personal information to third parties for their own marketing purposes.

We share information with service providers who perform functions on our behalf, such as web hosting, email delivery and information technology support. These providers are bound to use the information only for the purposes we specify and are required to protect it.

We may share information with professional advisers such as accountants and legal counsel where it is necessary to obtain advice or to comply with professional obligations. We limit such sharing to what is relevant to the matter at hand.

We may disclose information where we are required to do so by law, regulation, court order or other legal process, or where disclosure is necessary to protect the rights, property or safety of Metazoa LLC, our clients or the public.

If our business is reorganized, merged or sold, information may be transferred as part of that transaction. In such a case we will take reasonable steps to ensure that the recipient honors this policy or provides notice of a revised policy.

8. Service Providers and Processors

We rely on a small number of trusted providers to operate our website and run our business. Each provider is selected with care and is required to protect personal information to a standard consistent with this policy.

Hosting providers store the files and serve the pages of our website. They process technical information such as request logs as part of delivering the site and protecting it against abuse.

Email and communication providers transmit and store the messages you send us and the replies we send in return. We use these providers only for communication related to our services and our legitimate business activities.

Where a provider processes personal information on our behalf, we enter into a written agreement that requires the provider to act only on our documented instructions, to maintain appropriate security, and to assist us in responding to requests from individuals. We review our providers periodically to confirm that these commitments remain in place.

9. Client and Research Data

Our professional work often involves handling data that belongs to a client or a research institution. That data may include personal information about the client staff, research participants or other individuals.

When we handle client or research data, we generally act as a processor on the instructions of the client that controls the data. The client decides what data is shared with us, how long we may keep it, and what purposes it may serve. Our handling is governed by the contract between us and the client.

We apply the same care to client data that we apply to our own. Access is limited to the personnel who need it to perform the work, and we use technical and organizational measures to protect the data against unauthorized access, loss or alteration.

Where a client asks us to curate research data, we treat provenance and documentation as part of the deliverable. We record where data came from and how it was transformed so that the work can be reviewed, reused and, where required, audited by the institution that owns it.

If you are an individual whose personal information appears in data we process on behalf of a client, please direct your request to that client first. We will assist the client in responding to your request in accordance with our contract.

10. Data Retention

We keep personal information only for as long as it is needed for the purposes described in this policy, or for as long as the law requires us to keep it.

Inquiry records are retained for a reasonable period after the last contact so that we can continue a conversation you have started, and so that we can demonstrate how an inquiry was handled. When an inquiry does not lead to an engagement, we delete or anonymize the related personal information once it is clear that it is no longer needed.

Business and accounting records are retained for the period required by applicable tax and record keeping law. These records may include your name, contact details and a description of the services provided.

Client and research data is retained according to the schedule agreed with the client. When an engagement ends, we return or delete the client data as the client instructs, unless the law requires us to keep a copy.

When we no longer need personal information, we delete it securely or render it non-identifying. Where deletion is not immediately possible, we isolate the information and restrict access to it until deletion can be completed.

11. Security Practices

We maintain technical and organizational measures designed to protect personal information against unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration and destruction. No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, but we work to reduce risk to a level appropriate to the information we hold.

Access to personal information is limited to personnel who need it to perform their duties. We use access controls, authentication and the principle of least privilege to keep that access narrow, and we review access when roles change.

Data in transit between your browser and our website is protected by encryption where the connection supports it. Data at rest is stored on infrastructure that applies its own access controls and protective measures.

We keep records of the systems that hold personal information so that we can respond to incidents quickly. If we become aware of a breach that is likely to result in a risk to individuals, we will take steps to contain the breach and will notify affected parties and any relevant authority as required by law.

12. International Transfers

Metazoa LLC is based in the United States, and the information we collect is generally processed in the United States. If you contact us from another country, your information may be transferred to and processed in the United States.

Where we transfer personal information from a jurisdiction with transfer restrictions, we use appropriate safeguards such as standard contractual clauses or another lawful transfer mechanism. We assess the circumstances of the transfer before it takes place.

Where a client requires information to remain in a particular region, we work with the client to agree on a hosting and processing arrangement that meets that requirement. Such arrangements are documented in the engagement contract.

13. Your Privacy Rights

Depending on where you live, you may have rights regarding the personal information we hold about you. We honor these rights for all individuals who contact us, regardless of where they reside, subject to the limitations described below.

The right of access allows you to ask whether we hold personal information about you and to receive a copy of that information together with certain details about how it is used.

The right to correction allows you to ask us to correct personal information that is inaccurate or incomplete. Where we have shared the information with others, we will take reasonable steps to inform them of the correction.

The right to deletion allows you to ask us to delete personal information that we no longer need, that you have withdrawn consent to process, or that we have processed unlawfully. This right is subject to legal and contractual retention requirements.

The right to restrict processing allows you to ask us to limit the way we use your information while a question about its accuracy or our lawful basis is resolved.

The right to object allows you to object to processing based on our legitimate interests, including processing for direct marketing. Where you object to direct marketing, we will stop the relevant processing promptly.

The right to data portability allows you to receive personal information you have provided to us in a structured, commonly used and machine readable format, and to ask us to transmit it to another controller where technically feasible.

14. Exercising Your Rights

To exercise any of the rights described above, please contact us using the details in the final section of this policy. We will respond within the time required by applicable law, and we aim to respond promptly in all cases.

When you make a request, we may ask you to provide information that allows us to verify your identity and to locate the relevant records. This helps us protect your information against unauthorized disclosure.

We will not charge a fee for handling a reasonable request. If a request is manifestly unfounded or excessive, we may decline it or charge a reasonable fee, and we will explain our reasoning if we do so.

If we cannot fulfill a request, we will tell you why and explain any right you may have to complain to a supervisory authority. Where a request concerns data we process on behalf of a client, we will forward it to the client and assist as required by our contract.

15. Privacy for Children

Our website and services are intended for organizations and professional users. They are not directed to children, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children.

If you are a parent or guardian and believe that a child has provided personal information to us, please contact us using the details in the final section. We will take reasonable steps to delete the information promptly.

Where our work involves data about minors, such as in an education or research context, we handle that data only as instructed by the responsible client and in accordance with the safeguards the client has put in place.

16. Changes to This Policy

We may update this policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, our services or the law. When we make an update, we will revise the effective date at the top of the page.

If we make a material change to the way we handle personal information, we will take reasonable steps to inform affected individuals, such as by posting a notice on our website or by contacting them directly where appropriate.

We encourage you to review this policy periodically so that you remain aware of how we protect your information. Your continued use of our website after an update takes effect indicates that you accept the revised policy.

17. Complaints and Escalation

If you have a concern about how we have handled your personal information, please contact us first so that we have the opportunity to address it. We take complaints seriously and will investigate promptly.

When we receive a complaint, we will acknowledge it, review the relevant records, and explain our findings. Where we have made an error, we will take steps to correct it and to prevent a recurrence.

Depending on where you live, you may also have the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority or data protection regulator. We ask that you raise the matter with us first, but doing so is not a condition of exercising that right.

18. How to Contact Us

If you have questions about this policy, or if you wish to exercise a privacy right, please contact Metazoa LLC using the details below. We welcome inquiries in English and will respond as promptly as we can.

Please include enough detail for us to understand your request, such as the nature of your inquiry and the email address you used when contacting us. This helps us locate the relevant records and respond without unnecessary delay.