Your privacy matters to us

Welcome to Business Stats (operating at businesstats.com, hereafter referred to as "we", "our" or "us"). We are committed to protecting and respecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy describes how we collect, use, share, and safeguard your personal information when you interact with our website, services, products, and content.

By accessing or using businesstats.com, creating an account, subscribing to our newsletter, contacting our team, or using any of our services, you agree to the practices described in this Privacy Policy. If you do not agree with our policies and practices, please do not use our website or services.

We collect different types of information depending on how you interact with our website. Below is a complete breakdown:

2.1 Information You Provide Directly

• Account information: Name, email address, password, company/organization, job title (when registering for paid plans).
• Contact form submissions: Your name, email, phone number (optional), subject of inquiry, and message content.
• Custom research requests: Industry preferences, geographic focus, project scope, deliverable requirements, timeline.
• Newsletter subscriptions: Your email address and content preferences.
• Payment details: Billing address, VAT number (for businesses). Note: full credit card details are processed by our secure payment partners (Stripe, PayPal) and are never stored on our servers.

2.2 Information Collected Automatically

• Device and browser data: IP address, browser type and version, operating system, screen resolution, time zone.
• Usage data: Pages visited, time spent on each page, click patterns, search queries, download history, referring URLs.
• Performance data: Page load times, error logs, server response times.
• Cookies and similar technologies: See Section 5 for full details on our cookie practices.

2.3 Information from Third Parties

• Authentication providers: If you sign in with Google, LinkedIn, or another third-party service, we receive your name, email, and profile picture from them.
• Analytics providers: Aggregated and anonymized usage statistics from Google Analytics and similar services.
• Marketing partners: Email engagement data from Mailchimp or similar email service providers.

We use the personal information we collect for specific, legitimate purposes:

If you are located in the European Economic Area (EEA), United Kingdom, or other regions with similar privacy laws, we process your personal data under the following legal bases:

• Contractual necessity: Processing required to deliver services you've requested (e.g., maintaining your subscription, processing payments).
• Legitimate interests: Improving our services, ensuring security, communicating with customers about their accounts and subscriptions.
• Consent: Marketing emails, optional cookies, newsletter subscriptions. You can withdraw consent at any time.
• Legal obligation: Compliance with tax laws, accounting requirements, and lawful requests from authorities.

Cookies are small text files placed on your device when you visit a website. We use cookies and similar technologies (web beacons, local storage) to operate our site and improve your experience.

5.1 Types of Cookies We Use

5.2 Managing Cookies

You can manage your cookie preferences through our cookie banner when you first visit our site, or by adjusting your browser settings. Most browsers allow you to refuse cookies, delete existing cookies, or be notified before cookies are stored. Note that disabling essential cookies may affect site functionality.

For more detailed information about cookies, visit allaboutcookies.org.

We do not sell your personal information. We share your data only in the following limited circumstances:

6.1 Service Providers (Processors)

• Hosting providers: Cloud infrastructure partners (e.g., AWS, Cloudflare) for website hosting and content delivery.
• Payment processors: Stripe, PayPal for handling subscriptions and one-time purchases.
• Email services: Mailchimp, SendGrid for transactional emails and newsletters.
• Analytics providers: Google Analytics, Hotjar for understanding site usage.
• Customer support tools: Help desk software (Zendesk, Intercom) for managing inquiries.

All service providers are bound by strict data processing agreements and may only use your data to perform services on our behalf.

6.2 Legal Requirements

We may disclose information when required by law, in response to valid legal requests from public authorities, to enforce our terms of service, protect our rights or property, or prevent fraud and safety threats.

6.3 Business Transfers

If Business Stats is involved in a merger, acquisition, or asset sale, your information may be transferred as part of that transaction. We will notify you before your data becomes subject to a different privacy policy.

We take the security of your data seriously and implement industry-standard measures to protect it:

• Encryption in transit: All data transmitted between your browser and our servers is encrypted using TLS 1.3 (HTTPS).
• Encryption at rest: Sensitive data including passwords (hashed with bcrypt) and payment information is encrypted at rest.
• Access controls: Personal data is accessible only to authorized employees who need it to perform their job functions.
• Regular security audits: We conduct security reviews, vulnerability scans, and penetration testing.
• Backup procedures: Regular automated backups with secure off-site storage.
• Incident response: Documented procedures for detecting, responding to, and notifying users of any data breach within 72 hours, in compliance with GDPR.

We retain personal information only as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes outlined in this policy or as required by law:

Under GDPR, CCPA, and similar privacy laws, you have several rights regarding your personal information:

• Right to access: Request a copy of all personal data we hold about you.
• Right to rectification: Correct any inaccurate or incomplete personal information.
• Right to erasure ("right to be forgotten"): Request deletion of your personal data, subject to legal retention requirements.
• Right to restrict processing: Limit how we use your data while a dispute or correction is being resolved.
• Right to data portability: Receive your data in a structured, commonly-used, machine-readable format (CSV, JSON).
• Right to object: Opt out of processing for direct marketing or based on legitimate interests.
• Right to withdraw consent: Withdraw any consent you previously gave for data processing.
• Right to lodge a complaint: File a complaint with your local data protection authority.

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at support@businesstats.com. We will respond within 30 days.

Business Stats operates globally. Your information may be transferred to and processed in countries other than your country of residence, including the United States, United Kingdom, European Union, and other regions where our service providers operate.

When we transfer personal data outside the EEA or UK, we ensure adequate protection through:

• Adequacy decisions: Transfers to countries deemed adequate by the European Commission.
• Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs): EU-approved contracts ensuring equivalent protection.
• Data Processing Agreements: Binding agreements with all third-party processors.

Business Stats is intended for business and professional use. Our services are not directed to children under 16 years of age. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 16.

If you believe we have inadvertently collected information from a child under 16, please contact us immediately at support@businesstats.com and we will promptly delete that information.

Our website may contain links to third-party websites, plugins, or services (e.g., LinkedIn, Twitter, source publishers we cite). These third parties have their own privacy policies, and we are not responsible for their practices.

We encourage you to read the privacy policies of any third-party sites you visit through links on businesstats.com. Our Privacy Policy applies only to information collected by Business Stats directly.

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, technology, legal requirements, or other factors. When we make material changes, we will:

• Update the "Last updated" date at the top of this page.
• Notify registered users via email at least 30 days before changes take effect.
• Display a prominent notice on our website.
• Where required by law, obtain your renewed consent.

Your continued use of our services after the effective date constitutes acceptance of the revised policy. We encourage you to review this page periodically.

If you have any questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or how we handle your personal data, please contact us: