Privacy Policy

Information We Collect

We collect only the information we need to operate our Site, respond to inquiries, and understand how our Site is used. The categories of personal information we collect, the sources of that information, and how we use each category are described below. The category labels in parentheses correspond to the categories of personal information defined under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA).

• Identifiers and contact information (CCPA category: identifiers). When you submit our contact form, we collect the name and email address you provide. When you visit the Site, we automatically collect your IP address, which may be truncated or anonymized. Source: directly from you, and automatically from your device and browser.
• Internet or other electronic network activity information (CCPA category: internet activity). When you visit the Site, we automatically collect information such as the pages you view, the date and time of your visit, the referring website or source, and general information about your browser, device, and operating system. Source: automatically from your device and browser through privacy-friendly web analytics.
• Communications content (CCPA category: customer records and, where applicable, professional information). When you contact us through our form or by email, we collect the contents of the message you choose to send us, which may include details about a potential project. Source: directly from you.

We use a privacy-friendly analytics approach designed to minimize the personal data collected and to avoid building advertising profiles about you. We do not collect personal information from data brokers or other third-party data sources, and we do not buy or rent personal information about you.

Sensitive personal information. We do not intentionally collect sensitive personal information (such as government identifiers, financial account details, precise geolocation, health information, racial or ethnic origin, religious beliefs, or the contents of private communications other than messages you choose to send us). Because we do not collect or use sensitive personal information to infer characteristics about you, the CCPA right to limit the use of sensitive personal information does not apply to our practices. We ask that you not include sensitive information in messages you send us through the contact form or by email.

How We Use Information

We use the information we collect for the following business purposes:

• To respond to your inquiries and communicate with you about your message, our services, and potential projects.
• To operate, maintain, and improve our Site, including understanding which pages and content are most useful to visitors.
• To measure and analyze general traffic and usage trends using privacy-friendly analytics.
• To keep our Site functioning properly and secure, including detecting, preventing, and addressing technical issues, fraud, or misuse.
• To comply with applicable legal obligations and to establish, exercise, or defend legal claims where necessary.

We do not use your information to run advertising networks, and we do not use it to deliver cross-context behavioral or targeted advertising. We do not use your personal information for any purpose that is materially different from, or incompatible with, the purposes described in this policy without first providing you notice.

Automated decision-making and profiling. We do not use your personal information to make decisions about you that produce legal or similarly significant effects through solely automated means, and we do not engage in profiling for such purposes.

Legal Bases for Processing (GDPR / UK GDPR)

If you are located in the European Economic Area (EEA), the United Kingdom, or Switzerland, we process your personal information only when we have a valid legal basis to do so under the EU GDPR and the UK GDPR. Depending on the circumstances, our legal bases include:

• Consent. Where you have given us your consent, such as when you choose to accept non-essential cookies or voluntarily submit information through our contact form. You may withdraw your consent at any time without affecting the lawfulness of processing carried out before the withdrawal.
• Legitimate interests. Where processing is necessary for our legitimate interests, such as operating and improving our Site, understanding usage through privacy-friendly analytics, responding to inquiries, and keeping our Site secure, provided those interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms.
• Performance of a contract or steps taken at your request. Where processing is necessary to respond to your request to enter into or carry out a potential or actual engagement with us.
• Compliance with a legal obligation. Where we must process information to comply with applicable law or respond to lawful requests from public authorities.

As a small studio established in the United States, we do not maintain an establishment in the EEA or the United Kingdom and have not appointed an Article 27 representative in the EU or the UK. If you have questions about our legal bases or wish to exercise your rights, contact us at nathan@viridianfilms.org.

Cookies and Tracking Technologies

Cookies are small text files placed on your device when you visit a website. We use cookies and similar technologies for two main purposes: (1) basic site functionality, which helps our Site work properly and remember your preferences, and (2) analytics, which helps us understand how visitors use our Site through a privacy-friendly approach.

We classify cookies as either essential (strictly necessary for the Site to function) or non-essential (such as analytics cookies and cookies set by embedded third-party media). If you are located in the EEA, the United Kingdom, or Switzerland, we will not place non-essential cookies on your device unless and until you have given your consent, and you may change or withdraw your consent at any time. Essential cookies do not require consent because the Site cannot function properly without them.

You can also control cookies through your browser settings, which typically allow you to block or delete cookies. Please note that if you disable certain cookies, some parts of our Site may not work as intended.

Embedded Third-Party Content

Our Site may include embedded media and content hosted by third-party platforms, including YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok. When a page containing this embedded content loads, or when you interact with it, these third parties may set their own cookies and collect information about you, such as your IP address and details about your device and browsing activity. This happens directly between you and the relevant platform, and it is governed by that platform's own privacy policy rather than this one.

We do not control and are not responsible for the data practices of YouTube (Google), Instagram (Meta), or TikTok, including any tracking or profiling those platforms may carry out for their own purposes. We encourage you to review their privacy policies to understand how they handle your information:

• YouTube / Google: https://policies.google.com/privacy
• Instagram / Meta: https://privacycenter.instagram.com/policy
• TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/legal/privacy-policy

How Information Is Shared

We do not sell your personal information, and we do not share your personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising. We disclose personal information only in the limited circumstances described below. In the preceding twelve months, we have disclosed the categories of personal information described in 'Information We Collect' (identifiers, internet activity, and communications content) to the categories of recipients listed here:

• Service providers and processors. We may disclose information to trusted third parties that perform services on our behalf, such as website hosting, email delivery, form processing, and privacy-friendly analytics. These providers act on our instructions under contract and are permitted to use the information only as needed to provide their services to us.
• Embedded content providers. As described above, embedded media from YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok may receive information directly from your browser when you load or interact with that content.
• Legal and safety recipients. We may disclose information where we believe in good faith that doing so is necessary to comply with applicable law, regulation, legal process, or an enforceable governmental request, or to protect the rights, property, or safety of VRDN Media, our users, or others.
• Successors in a business transfer. If we are involved in a merger, acquisition, financing, reorganization, sale of assets, or similar transaction, or in bankruptcy or insolvency, personal information may be transferred as part of that transaction, subject to the commitments made in this Privacy Policy.

To be clear: we have not sold personal information for money or other valuable consideration, and we have not shared personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising, in the preceding twelve months or at any time, as those terms are defined under applicable California law. We also do not sell or share the personal information of consumers we know to be under 16 years of age.

Data Retention

We keep personal information only for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes described in this Privacy Policy, unless a longer retention period is required or permitted by law. We do not retain personal information for longer than is reasonably necessary for the purpose for which it was collected. Our retention practices by category are:

• Contact-form and email submissions: retained for as long as needed to respond to your inquiry and maintain a record of our correspondence, and typically deleted or anonymized within approximately 24 months of our last contact unless an active or anticipated project, or a legal obligation, requires longer retention.
• Analytics and usage data: retained in aggregated or limited form, typically no longer than 14 months, after which it is deleted or retained only in non-identifying aggregate form.

The criteria we use to determine retention periods include the amount, nature, and sensitivity of the information; the potential risk of harm from unauthorized use or disclosure; the purposes for which we process it and whether we can achieve those purposes by other means; and applicable legal, accounting, or reporting requirements. When information is no longer needed, we take reasonable steps to delete it or render it anonymous.

Data Security

We take reasonable technical and organizational measures designed to protect personal information against loss, misuse, unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, and destruction. As a small studio, these measures include using reputable service providers, limiting access to personal information to those who need it, and relying on encrypted (HTTPS) connections for our Site. However, no method of transmission over the internet or method of electronic storage is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security. We encourage you to take steps to protect your own information, including when communicating with us, and not to send us sensitive information by email.

Children's Privacy

Our Site is not directed to children, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children under the age of 13 (or under 16 where a higher age applies under local law, including the EEA and the United Kingdom). We do not knowingly sell or share the personal information of consumers under 16 years of age. If you are a parent or guardian and believe that your child has provided us with personal information, please contact us at nathan@viridianfilms.org, and we will take steps to delete that information.

Your Privacy Rights

Depending on where you live, you may have certain rights regarding your personal information. The sections below describe rights available to California residents and to individuals in the EEA, the United Kingdom, and Switzerland. To exercise any of these rights, contact us at nathan@viridianfilms.org. We will respond as required by applicable law, we will not discriminate against you for exercising your rights, and we will not charge you a fee unless your request is manifestly unfounded, excessive, or repetitive, as permitted by law. We may need to verify your identity before fulfilling certain requests, and we will only use information provided in a request to verify the requester's identity and to respond to the request.

California Privacy Rights (CCPA / CPRA)

If you are a California resident, the California Consumer Privacy Act, as amended by the California Privacy Rights Act (collectively, the 'CCPA'), gives you the following rights with respect to your personal information:

• Right to know and access. You have the right to request that we disclose the categories and specific pieces of personal information we have collected about you, the categories of sources, the business or commercial purposes for collecting it, and the categories of third parties to whom we disclose it.
• Right to delete. You have the right to request that we delete personal information we have collected from you, subject to certain exceptions permitted by law.
• Right to correct. You have the right to request that we correct inaccurate personal information that we maintain about you.
• Right to opt out of the sale or sharing of personal information. You have the right to opt out of the 'sale' or 'sharing' of your personal information. We do not sell your personal information and we do not share it for cross-context behavioral advertising, so there is nothing for you to opt out of and we do not need to provide a 'Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information' link.
• Right to limit use of sensitive personal information. You have the right to limit the use and disclosure of sensitive personal information. Because we do not use or disclose sensitive personal information for purposes that trigger this right, there is nothing for you to limit.
• Right to non-discrimination. You have the right not to receive discriminatory treatment for exercising any of your CCPA rights.

How to submit a request. To exercise these rights, email us at nathan@viridianfilms.org. We will acknowledge your request and respond within the timeframes required by the CCPA (generally within 45 days, with one possible 45-day extension). You may use an authorized agent to submit a request on your behalf; we may require the agent to provide proof of authorization and may still verify your identity directly. To verify your request, we may ask you to confirm information we already hold, such as the email address you used to contact us. If we deny your request, we will explain why.

Shine the Light. California Civil Code Section 1798.83 (the 'Shine the Light' law) permits California residents to request information about a business's disclosure of personal information to third parties for those third parties' direct marketing purposes. We do not disclose personal information to third parties for their own direct marketing purposes.

EEA / UK / Swiss Privacy Rights (GDPR / UK GDPR)

If you are located in the EEA, the United Kingdom, or Switzerland, you have the following rights with respect to your personal information under the GDPR and UK GDPR:

• Right of access. You may request confirmation of whether we process your personal information and a copy of that information.
• Right to rectification. You may request that we correct inaccurate or incomplete personal information.
• Right to erasure. You may request that we delete your personal information in certain circumstances (the 'right to be forgotten').
• Right to restriction of processing. You may request that we restrict the processing of your personal information in certain circumstances.
• Right to data portability. You may request to receive certain personal information you provided to us in a structured, commonly used, and machine-readable format, and to have it transmitted to another controller where technically feasible.
• Right to object. You may object to our processing of your personal information where we rely on legitimate interests as our legal basis, and you may object at any time to processing for direct marketing.
• Right to withdraw consent. Where we rely on your consent, you may withdraw it at any time without affecting the lawfulness of processing carried out before the withdrawal.
• Right to lodge a complaint. You have the right to lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority or supervisory authority if you believe our processing of your personal information violates applicable law. In the UK, this is the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) at https://ico.org.uk. In the EEA and Switzerland, you may contact the supervisory authority in your country of residence, place of work, or place of the alleged infringement.

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at nathan@viridianfilms.org. We will respond within the timeframes required by applicable law (generally within one month, which may be extended for complex or numerous requests).

Do Not Track

Some browsers offer a 'Do Not Track' (DNT) signal that lets you express a preference not to be tracked across websites. There is currently no consistent industry or legal standard for recognizing and responding to DNT signals. As a result, our Site does not respond to DNT signals at this time. Where required by California law, we treat a recognized opt-out preference signal, such as the Global Privacy Control (GPC), as a valid request to opt out of the sale or sharing of personal information; however, because we do not sell or share personal information, no such opt-out is necessary. We do not track you across third-party websites for advertising purposes.

International Data Transfers

We are based in the United States, and the information we collect is processed and stored in the United States and potentially in other countries where our service providers operate. These countries may have data protection laws that differ from those in your country of residence. If you access our Site from outside the United States, you understand that your information may be transferred to, stored in, and processed in the United States. Where required by law, we take appropriate safeguards to protect personal information transferred out of the EEA, the United Kingdom, or Switzerland, such as relying on lawful transfer mechanisms (for example, the European Commission's Standard Contractual Clauses and the UK International Data Transfer Addendum). You may request a copy of the relevant safeguards by contacting us at nathan@viridianfilms.org.

Links to Other Websites

Our Site may contain links to third-party websites and platforms that we do not own or control, including the social media platforms whose content we embed. This Privacy Policy does not apply to those third-party sites. We are not responsible for the privacy practices or content of any third-party website, and we encourage you to read the privacy policy of every website you visit.

Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, technologies, legal requirements, or other factors. When we make changes, we will revise the 'Last Updated' date at the top of this policy. If we make material changes, we will take additional steps to notify you where appropriate or required by law. We encourage you to review this Privacy Policy periodically to stay informed about how we protect your information.

Governing Law

This Privacy Policy and any disputes arising out of or relating to it are governed by the laws of the State of California, United States, without regard to its conflict-of-laws principles, except where superseded by applicable data protection laws that grant you additional rights. Nothing in this section deprives you of the protection of mandatory provisions of the law of your country of residence.

How to Contact Us

If you have any questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or our handling of your personal information, please contact us:

• VRDN Media
• Email: nathan@viridianfilms.org
• Website: https://www.vrdnmedia.com
• Location: State of California, United States