Privacy Policy

1. Introduction

StanbinOnline ("we," "our," or "us") is committed to protecting your privacy and ensuring the security of your personal information. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you visit our website, use our services, or interact with us in any way.

By accessing or using our services, you acknowledge that you have read and understood this Privacy Policy. If you do not agree with our policies and practices, please do not use our services. This policy applies to all information collected through our website, client portal, mobile applications, and any related services, sales, marketing, or events.

We are committed to complying with applicable data protection laws, including the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), and other relevant regulations that govern the collection and processing of personal data.

2. Information Collection

We collect several types of information from and about users of our services, including:

2.1 Personal Information You Provide

We may collect personal information that you voluntarily provide to us when you:

• Register for an account or create a profile
• Complete forms or surveys on our website
• Subscribe to our newsletters or marketing communications
• Request information about our services
• Participate in promotions, contests, or events
• Contact our customer support team
• Submit financial documents for tax preparation or accounting services

The personal information we collect may include:

• Name, email address, postal address, and telephone number
• Login credentials and password
• Financial information (such as bank account numbers, credit card information, income details)
• Social Security Number or Tax Identification Number
• Employment information
• Business information for business clients

2.2 Automatically Collected Information

When you visit our website or use our services, we may automatically collect certain information about your device and usage patterns. This information may include:

• IP address and geolocation data
• Browser type and version
• Operating system
• Device information (such as device type and mobile device identifiers)
• Pages visited and time spent on those pages
• Referring website or source
• Clickstream data and user activity

2.3 Information from Third Parties

We may receive information about you from third parties, including:

• Business partners and service providers who help us provide services to you
• Financial institutions (with your authorization)
• Credit reporting agencies (with your authorization)
• Social media platforms when you connect your account or interact with our content
• Public databases and government sources for identity verification

3. Data Usage

We use the information we collect for various purposes, including:

3.1 Providing and Improving Our Services

• To provide the services you request, such as tax preparation, financial planning, or accounting services
• To create and maintain your account
• To process payments and transactions
• To improve and personalize your experience with our services
• To develop new features, products, and services
• To provide customer support and respond to inquiries

3.2 Communication

• To communicate with you about your account or our services
• To send administrative information, such as updates to our terms, conditions, and policies
• To send you marketing and promotional communications (with your consent where required by law)
• To respond to your comments, questions, and requests
• To provide customer service and support

3.3 Security and Compliance

• To protect our services, users, and business
• To detect, prevent, and address fraud, security breaches, and technical issues
• To verify your identity and prevent unauthorized access to your account
• To comply with legal obligations, such as tax reporting requirements
• To enforce our terms, conditions, and policies
• To establish, exercise, or defend legal claims

3.4 Analytics and Research

• To analyze usage patterns and trends
• To measure the effectiveness of our marketing campaigns
• To conduct research and development for future service improvements
• To generate anonymized, aggregate statistics about our users

4. Third-Party Sharing

We may share your information with third parties in the following circumstances:

4.1 Service Providers

We may share your information with third-party service providers who perform services on our behalf, such as:

• Payment processors and financial institutions
• Cloud hosting and data storage providers
• Customer support and communication platforms
• Analytics and marketing service providers
• Professional advisors, such as lawyers, auditors, and insurers
• Tax preparation software providers

These service providers are contractually obligated to use your information only as necessary to provide services to us and are required to maintain the confidentiality and security of your data.

4.2 Business Transfers

If we are involved in a merger, acquisition, financing, reorganization, bankruptcy, or sale of company assets, your information may be transferred to the acquiring company or other third party as part of that transaction. We will notify you via email and/or a prominent notice on our website of any change in ownership or uses of your personal information.

4.3 Legal Requirements

We may disclose your information if required to do so by law or in response to valid requests by public authorities (e.g., a court or government agency). We may also disclose your information to:

• Enforce our rights arising from any contracts entered into between you and us
• Protect the rights, property, or safety of StanbinOnline, our customers, or others
• Prevent or investigate possible wrongdoing in connection with our services
• Protect against legal liability

4.4 With Your Consent

We may share your information with third parties when you have given us your consent to do so. For example, we may share your information with financial institutions or tax authorities with your permission to facilitate tax filing or financial services.

4.5 Aggregate or De-identified Information

We may share aggregate or de-identified information that cannot reasonably be used to identify you with third parties for marketing, advertising, research, or similar purposes.

5. User Rights

Depending on your location, you may have certain rights regarding your personal information. These may include:

5.1 Access and Portability

You have the right to request access to the personal information we hold about you. Upon request, we will provide you with a copy of your personal data in a structured, commonly used, and machine-readable format.

5.2 Correction and Update

You have the right to request that we correct or update any inaccurate or incomplete personal information we hold about you. You can update certain information directly through your account settings or by contacting us.

5.3 Deletion

You have the right to request the deletion of your personal information in certain circumstances, such as when the information is no longer necessary for the purposes for which it was collected. However, we may retain certain information as required by law or for legitimate business purposes.

5.4 Restriction and Objection

You have the right to request that we restrict the processing of your personal information in certain circumstances. You also have the right to object to the processing of your personal information for direct marketing purposes or when the processing is based on our legitimate interests.

5.5 Withdrawal of Consent

Where we rely on your consent to process your personal information, you have the right to withdraw your consent at any time. However, this will not affect the lawfulness of any processing carried out before you withdraw your consent.

5.6 How to Exercise Your Rights

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us using the information provided in the "Contact Information" section. We will respond to your request within the timeframe required by applicable law. We may need to verify your identity before fulfilling your request.

6. Cookie Policy

We use cookies and similar tracking technologies to collect and use information about you while you use our website. This section explains what cookies are, how we use them, and your choices regarding cookies.

6.1 What Are Cookies

Cookies are small data files that are placed on your device when you visit a website. Cookies are widely used to make websites work more efficiently and provide information to the website owners. Cookies can be "persistent" or "session" cookies. Persistent cookies remain on your device after you close your browser, while session cookies are deleted when you close your browser.

6.2 Types of Cookies We Use

We use the following types of cookies:

• Essential Cookies: These cookies are necessary for the website to function properly and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually set in response to actions made by you, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in, or filling in forms.
• Analytical/Performance Cookies: These cookies allow us to recognize and count the number of visitors and see how visitors move around our website. This helps us improve the way our website works, for example, by ensuring that users find what they are looking for easily.
• Functionality Cookies: These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalization. They may be set by us or by third-party providers whose services we have added to our pages.
• Targeting/Advertising Cookies: These cookies record your visit to our website, the pages you have visited, and the links you have followed. We use this information to make our website and the advertising displayed on it more relevant to your interests.

6.3 Third-Party Cookies

Some cookies are placed by third parties on our website. These third parties may include analytics providers, advertising networks, and social media platforms. These third parties may use cookies, web beacons, and similar technologies to collect information about your use of our website and other websites.

6.4 Your Cookie Choices

You can control and manage cookies in various ways. You can:

• Set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies
• Use our cookie consent tool to manage your preferences
• Opt out of certain third-party cookies through industry opt-out tools

Please note that blocking some types of cookies may impact your experience on our website and the services we offer. For more information about how to manage cookies, please visit the help pages of your browser.

7. Data Retention

We retain your personal information for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes outlined in this Privacy Policy, unless a longer retention period is required or permitted by law. The criteria used to determine our retention periods include:

7.1 Account Information

We retain your account information for as long as your account is active or as needed to provide you with our services. If you close your account, we will retain certain information associated with your account for analytical purposes and recordkeeping integrity, as well as to prevent fraud, enforce our terms and conditions, take actions we deem necessary to protect the integrity of our systems, or take other actions otherwise permitted by law.

7.2 Financial and Tax Information

We retain financial and tax-related information in accordance with applicable tax, accounting, and legal requirements. For example, we may retain tax return information for a minimum of seven years as required by tax authorities.

7.3 Marketing Information

If you have opted to receive marketing communications from us, we will retain your marketing preferences until you opt out or request that we delete your information. Even after you opt out of marketing messages, we may still retain your email address or phone number to document your preference.

7.4 Anonymized Data

We may anonymize or aggregate your information such that it can no longer be used to identify you. This anonymized or aggregate data may be retained indefinitely and used for statistical, research, or analytical purposes.

8. Security Measures

We implement appropriate technical and organizational measures to protect your personal information against unauthorized or unlawful processing, accidental loss, destruction, or damage. Our security measures include:

8.1 Technical Safeguards

• Encryption of sensitive data both in transit and at rest
• Secure Socket Layer (SSL) technology for secure data transmission
• Firewalls and intrusion detection systems
• Regular security assessments and vulnerability scanning
• Multi-factor authentication for account access
• Regular system backups

8.2 Organizational Safeguards

• Employee training on data security and privacy
• Access controls and permissions based on job responsibilities
• Confidentiality agreements with employees and contractors
• Background checks for employees with access to sensitive data
• Incident response procedures

8.3 Third-Party Security

We require our third-party service providers to implement appropriate security measures to protect your personal information. We regularly review their security practices to ensure they meet our standards.

8.4 Data Breach Procedures

In the event of a data breach that compromises your personal information, we will notify you and relevant authorities as required by applicable law. Our notification will include information about the breach, the types of data affected, and steps you can take to protect yourself.

8.5 Your Role in Security

While we implement security measures to protect your information, the security of your account also depends on you. We encourage you to:

• Use strong, unique passwords for your account
• Enable multi-factor authentication when available
• Keep your login credentials confidential
• Log out of your account after using shared computers
• Be alert to phishing attempts and suspicious communications

9. International Transfers

StanbinOnline is based in the United States, and we may process, store, and transfer your personal information in the United States and other countries that may have different data protection laws than those in your country of residence.

When we transfer your information to other countries, we take steps to ensure that your information receives an adequate level of protection. These steps may include:

• Entering into Standard Contractual Clauses approved by the European Commission
• Obtaining your explicit consent for the transfer
• Transferring to countries that have been deemed to provide adequate protection
• Implementing appropriate technical and organizational measures to protect your information

By using our services, you consent to the transfer of your information to the United States and other countries where we and our service providers operate.

10. Children's Privacy

Our services are not directed to individuals under the age of 18, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you are a parent or guardian and believe that your child has provided us with personal information, please contact us. If we become aware that we have collected personal information from a child without verification of parental consent, we will take steps to remove that information from our servers.

11. Policy Updates

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 changes, we will update the "Last Updated" date at the top of this policy and take other appropriate steps to notify you.

We encourage you to periodically review this policy to stay informed about our privacy practices. Your continued use of our services after any changes to this Privacy Policy constitutes your acceptance of the revised policy.

For significant changes that materially affect your rights or how we use your information, we will provide more prominent notice, such as sending you an email notification or displaying a banner on our website.

12. Contact Information

If you have any questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or our privacy practices, please contact us using the following information:

We will respond to your inquiry as soon as possible and within the timeframe required by applicable law.

For residents of the European Economic Area, you also have the right to lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority if you believe that we have not complied with applicable data protection laws.