Privacy Policy
This Privacy Policy describes Our policies and procedures on the collection, use and disclosure of Your information when You use the Service, and tells You about Your privacy rights and how the law protects You.
We use Your Personal Data to provide and improve the Service. By using the Service, You agree to the collection and use of information in accordance with this Privacy Policy.
1. Interpretation and definitions
Interpretation
The words of which the initial letter is capitalized have meanings defined under the following conditions. The following definitions shall have the same meaning regardless of whether they appear in singular or in plural.
Definitions
For the purposes of this Privacy Policy:
- Affiliate means an entity that controls, is controlled by or is under common control with a party, where "control" means ownership of 50% or more of the shares, equity interest or other securities entitled to vote for election of directors or other managing authority.
- Client means a business or individual who has engaged Us to provide services, including website design, custom web application development, or Business AI services.
- Company (referred to as either "the Company", "We", "Us" or "Our" in this Agreement) refers to Merging Innovation, Northern Virginia.
- Cookies are small files that are placed on Your computer, mobile device or any other device by a website, containing the details of Your browsing history on that website among its many uses.
- Country refers to: Virginia, United States.
- Device means any device that can access the Service such as a computer, a cellphone or a digital tablet.
- Personal Data is any information that relates to an identified or identifiable individual.
- Service refers to the Website and the services We provide through it.
- Service Provider means any natural or legal person who processes the data on behalf of the Company. It refers to third-party companies or individuals employed by the Company to facilitate the Service, to provide the Service on behalf of the Company, to perform services related to the Service or to assist the Company in analyzing how the Service is used.
- Usage Data refers to data collected automatically, either generated by the use of the Service or from the Service infrastructure itself (for example, the duration of a page visit).
- Website refers to Merging Innovation, accessible from https://merginginnovation.com, together with its subdomains including webdesign.merginginnovation.com.
- You means the individual accessing or using the Service, or the company, or other legal entity on behalf of which such individual is accessing or using the Service, as applicable.
2. Collecting and using your personal data
Personal data
While using Our Service, We may ask You to provide Us with certain personally identifiable information that can be used to contact or identify You. Personally identifiable information may include, but is not limited to:
- First name and last name
- Email address
- Phone number
- Business or organization name
- The content of the message You send Us, including any details You choose to share about Your project
- The service You indicated interest in when You contacted Us
- Usage Data
You provide most of this information voluntarily — by submitting the contact form on Our Website, by emailing or calling Us, or by meeting with Us on a video call. You are not required to provide any of it, but if You do not, We may not be able to respond to Your inquiry or provide the Service.
Usage data
Usage Data is collected automatically when using the Service.
Usage Data may include information such as Your Device's Internet Protocol address (e.g. IP address), browser type, browser version, the pages of our Service that You visit, the time and date of Your visit, the time spent on those pages, unique device identifiers and other diagnostic data. Our web host records this information in standard server logs.
When You submit the contact form, We also record the IP address and the date and time of the submission along with Your message. We use this to help identify and block automated spam submissions.
When You access the Service by or through a mobile device, We may collect certain information automatically, including, but not limited to, the type of mobile device You use, Your mobile device unique ID, the IP address of Your mobile device, Your mobile operating system, the type of mobile Internet browser You use, unique device identifiers and other diagnostic data.
We may also collect information that Your browser sends whenever You visit our Service or when You access the Service by or through a mobile device.
3. SMS and text messaging
Mobile information will not be shared with third parties or affiliates for marketing or promotional purposes.
We use text messaging in two ways.
Conversational and customer-care messages. If You give Us Your mobile number, We may contact You by text message about Your inquiry or Your project. Message frequency varies and depends on Your conversation with Us.
Lead notification alerts for Clients. Where a Client has engaged Us for lead generation services, We send that Client's designated mobile number an alert each time a new lead is generated for their business. These messages contain the lead type, the date and time received, the prospect's phone number, and a short note. Message frequency varies and depends on the volume of leads generated for that business.
Message and data rates may apply. You can stop receiving text messages from Us at any time by replying STOP, or by telling Us in any other reasonable way. Reply HELP for assistance.
We may disclose Personal Data and other information as follows:
- Third parties that help provide the messaging service: We will not share Your opt-in to an SMS campaign with a third party for purposes unrelated to supporting You in connection with that campaign. We may share Your Personal Data with third parties that help us provide the messaging service, including, but not limited to, platform providers, phone companies, and other vendors who assist us in the delivery of text messages.
- Additional disclosures — affiliates: We may disclose the Personal Data to our affiliates or subsidiaries; however, if we do so, their use and disclosure of Your Personal Data will be subject to this Policy.
- All the above categories exclude text messaging originator opt-in data and consent; this information will not be shared with any third parties.
5. Use of your personal data
The Company may use Personal Data for the following purposes:
- To provide and maintain our Service, including to monitor the usage of our Service.
- To respond to Your inquiry: to answer the question You asked Us, prepare a quote or proposal, and schedule a call or meeting with You.
- For the performance of a contract: the development, compliance and undertaking of the purchase contract for the products, items or services You have purchased or of any other contract with Us through the Service.
- To contact You: To contact You by email, telephone calls, SMS, or other equivalent forms of electronic communication regarding updates or informative communications related to the functionalities, products or contracted services, including security updates, when necessary or reasonable for their implementation.
- To follow up on Your inquiry and support Your project: to answer Your questions, confirm scheduling, and send customer-care and service updates about the work You asked Us about or engaged Us to do. Any marketing or newsletter email is a separate, optional subscription You choose to join, and We do not use text messages for it.
- To manage Your requests: To attend and manage Your requests to Us.
- To protect the Service: to detect, prevent and address spam, fraud, abuse, and technical or security issues.
- For business transfers: We may use Your information to evaluate or conduct a merger, divestiture, restructuring, reorganization, dissolution, or other sale or transfer of some or all of Our assets, whether as a going concern or as part of bankruptcy, liquidation, or similar proceeding, in which Personal Data held by Us about our Service users is among the assets transferred.
- For other purposes: We may use Your information for other purposes, such as data analysis, identifying usage trends, determining the effectiveness of our promotional campaigns and to evaluate and improve our Service, products, services, marketing and Your experience.
7. Data we process for clients
When We build or maintain a website, web application, or Business AI service for a Client, We may have access to information that belongs to that Client — including their customer records, form submissions, account credentials, and business documents.
In that situation We act on the Client's instructions. We use that information only to deliver the services We were engaged to perform, We do not use it for Our own marketing, and We do not sell it. The Client remains responsible for their own privacy notices and for the lawfulness of the data they ask Us to process.
If You are a customer of one of Our Clients and You want Your information corrected or removed, please contact that business directly. We will support them in honoring Your request.
8. AI services, calls and recordings
We offer Business AI services, including an AI Voice Receptionist. Where a Client uses that service, calls to the Client's business may be answered by an automated voice agent, and the call may be recorded, transcribed, and summarized so that the Client receives a record of the conversation.
Call audio and transcripts are processed by third-party voice and language model providers acting as Service Providers under contract. Recording and consent requirements vary by state; Clients are responsible for providing any disclosure or obtaining any consent their jurisdiction requires, and Our services are configured to support that disclosure.
We do not use Client call recordings, transcripts, or customer data to train Our own models, and We instruct Our Service Providers not to use it to train theirs.
9. Retention of your personal data
The Company will retain Your Personal Data only for as long as is necessary for the purposes set out in this Privacy Policy. We will retain and use Your Personal Data to the extent necessary to comply with our legal obligations (for example, if we are required to retain Your data to comply with applicable laws), resolve disputes, and enforce our legal agreements and policies.
The Company will also retain Usage Data for internal analysis purposes. Usage Data is generally retained for a shorter period of time, except when this data is used to strengthen the security or to improve the functionality of Our Service, or We are legally obligated to retain this data for longer time periods.
10. Transfer of your personal data
Your information, including Personal Data, is processed at the Company's operating offices and in any other places where the parties involved in the processing are located. It means that this information may be transferred to — and maintained on — computers located outside of Your state, province, country or other governmental jurisdiction where the data protection laws may differ from those of Your jurisdiction.
Your consent to this Privacy Policy followed by Your submission of such information represents Your agreement to that transfer.
The Company will take all steps reasonably necessary to ensure that Your data is treated securely and in accordance with this Privacy Policy and no transfer of Your Personal Data will take place to an organization or a country unless there are adequate controls in place including the security of Your data and other personal information.
11. Deleting your personal data
You have the right to delete or request that We assist in deleting the Personal Data that We have collected about You.
You may contact Us at any time to request access to, correction of, or deletion of any personal information that You have provided to Us. Depending on where You live, You may also have the right to know what personal information We hold about You, to request a copy of it, to opt out of the sale or sharing of personal information (We do not sell or share it), and not to be discriminated against for exercising these rights. Residents of Virginia, California, and other states with comprehensive privacy laws have these rights under those laws, and We honor requests from all visitors regardless of where they live.
To make a request, email dave@merginginnovation.com. We may need to verify Your identity before acting on the request.
Please note, however, that We may need to retain certain information when we have a legal obligation or lawful basis to do so.
12. Disclosure of your personal data
Business transactions
If the Company is involved in a merger, acquisition or asset sale, Your Personal Data may be transferred. We will provide notice before Your Personal Data is transferred and becomes subject to a different Privacy Policy.
Law enforcement
Under certain circumstances, the Company may be required to disclose Your Personal Data if required to do so by law or in response to valid requests by public authorities (e.g. a court or a government agency).
Other legal requirements
The Company may disclose Your Personal Data in the good faith belief that such action is necessary to:
- Comply with a legal obligation
- Protect and defend the rights or property of the Company
- Prevent or investigate possible wrongdoing in connection with the Service
- Protect the personal safety of Users of the Service or the public
- Protect against legal liability
13. Security of your personal data
The security of Your Personal Data is important to Us, but remember that no method of transmission over the Internet, or method of electronic storage is 100% secure. While We strive to use commercially acceptable means to protect Your Personal Data, We cannot guarantee its absolute security.
14. Children's privacy
Our Service does not address anyone under the age of 13. We do not knowingly collect personally identifiable information from anyone under the age of 13. If You are a parent or guardian and You are aware that Your child has provided Us with Personal Data, please contact Us. If We become aware that We have collected Personal Data from anyone under the age of 13 without verification of parental consent, We take steps to remove that information from Our servers.
If We need to rely on consent as a legal basis for processing Your information and Your country requires consent from a parent, We may require Your parent's consent before We collect and use that information.
15. Links to other websites
Our Service may contain links to other websites that are not operated by Us. If You click on a third party link, You will be directed to that third party's site. We strongly advise You to review the Privacy Policy of every site You visit.
We have no control over and assume no responsibility for the content, privacy policies or practices of any third party sites or services.
16. 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.
We will let You know via email and/or a prominent notice on Our Service, prior to the change becoming effective, and update the "Last updated" date at the top of this Privacy 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.
17. Contact us
If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, You can contact us: