Left Bucket Theory ("we," "us," or "our") is committed to protecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you use our website and services at leftbuckettheory.com.

1. Information We Collect

Information You Provide

Account registration details (name, email address, password)
Profile information you choose to add
Forum posts, comments, and community contributions
Course enrollment and progress data
Payment information (processed securely by Stripe — we never store card numbers)
Contact form submissions
AI chatbot conversation history

Information Collected Automatically

Device information (browser type, operating system)
IP address and approximate location
Pages visited and features used
Referring website and search terms

2. How We Use Your Information

Provide, maintain, and improve our services
Process transactions and send related information
Send you technical notices, updates, and support messages
Respond to your comments, questions, and customer service requests
Track your course progress and gamification achievements
Personalize AI chatbot responses based on your interaction history
Monitor and analyze usage trends to improve user experience
Detect, investigate, and prevent fraudulent transactions and abuse

3. Cookies & Tracking

We use cookies and similar technologies to:

Essential cookies: Keep you signed in and remember your preferences
Analytics cookies: Understand how visitors use our site (via Google Analytics)
Functional cookies: Remember your theme preference (light/dark mode)

You can control cookies through your browser settings. Disabling essential cookies may affect site functionality.

4. Third-Party Services

We use the following third-party services:

Stripe: Payment processing. Stripe's privacy policy applies to payment data. We never store your full card number.
Google Analytics: Website usage analytics. You can opt out using Google's browser add-on.
Google OAuth: Optional sign-in method. We only receive your name and email.

AI Chatbot: Our AI chatbot runs on a locally-hosted language model (Ollama). Your conversations are processed on our servers and are not sent to any third-party AI provider. Conversation history is stored in your account for continuity and can be deleted at any time.

5. Children's Privacy (COPPA)

Left Bucket Theory is designed for parents and educators to use with children. Our platform is intended for adults (parents, educators, therapists) who then apply the concepts with children in their care.

We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13
Account registration requires users to be 18 or older, or have parental consent
If we discover we have collected information from a child under 13 without parental consent, we will delete it promptly
Parents may contact us to review, delete, or stop collection of their child's information

6. Data Retention

Account data is retained as long as your account is active
After account deletion, personal data is removed within 30 days
Anonymized analytics data may be retained indefinitely
Payment records are retained as required by tax and financial regulations
Forum posts may remain visible after account deletion (attributed to "Deleted User")

7. Your Rights

You have the right to:

Access: Request a copy of the personal data we hold about you
Correction: Request correction of inaccurate personal data
Deletion: Request deletion of your account and personal data
Export: Request an export of your data in a portable format
Opt-out: Unsubscribe from marketing emails at any time
Restrict processing: Request that we limit how we use your data

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at the email address below.

8. Data Security

We implement appropriate technical and organizational measures to protect your personal data, including:

Encrypted data transmission (HTTPS/TLS)
Hashed and salted password storage
Regular security updates and monitoring
Role-based access controls for our team

No method of transmission over the internet is 100% secure. While we strive to protect your data, we cannot guarantee absolute security.

9. Contact Us

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or wish to exercise your rights, contact us at:

Email: privacy@leftbuckettheory.com
Website: leftbuckettheory.com/contact

10. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of any changes by posting the new policy on this page and updating the "Last updated" date. Continued use of the service after changes constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.