Privacy Policy

Information you give us directly. When you join our waitlist, subscribe to our newsletter, or click a "Notify Me" button on a product page, we collect your email address and, where applicable, the product, membership tier, or source that prompted the signup. We do not ask for your name, phone number, or address at this stage.

Automatic information. Like most websites, we automatically collect a limited set of technical data when you visit, including IP address (which we hash and truncate before storing), browser and device type, referring URL, and pages viewed. We use a first-party session identifier stored in your browser's local storage to distinguish visits.

Analytics. We use privacy-friendly, first-party analytics stored on our own servers. We may add a third-party analytics provider (such as GA4 or Plausible) in the future; if we do, we will update this policy first.

Cookies and similar technologies. We use a small number of first-party cookies and local-storage entries needed for the Site to function and to measure aggregate usage. We do not use third-party advertising cookies.

• To operate, maintain, and improve the Site and its features.
• To send you the newsletter or waitlist updates you signed up for.
• To notify you when a product or membership tier you reserved becomes available.
• To understand how the Site is used in aggregate (analytics).
• To detect and prevent fraud, abuse, or security incidents on the Site.
• To comply with applicable law and enforce our Terms of Service.

We do not sell your personal information. We share limited information only with service providers who help us operate the Site — for example, our hosting provider and, in the future, our payment processor and print-on-demand fulfillment partner. These providers are contractually obligated to protect your information and use it only for the services they provide to us.

We may disclose information if required by law, court order, or to protect the rights, property, or safety of Synthetic Media Investigator, our users, or the public.

We retain waitlist and newsletter email addresses until you ask us to delete them or the associated launch is complete and you have not opted in to continued communications. Aggregate, non-identifying analytics may be retained indefinitely.

If you are a resident of California, the California Consumer Privacy Act ("CCPA"), as amended by the California Privacy Rights Act ("CPRA"), gives you specific rights regarding your personal information:

• Right to know what personal information we collect, use, and share.
• Right to delete personal information we have collected from you, subject to certain exceptions.
• Right to correct inaccurate personal information.
• Right to opt out of the sale or sharing of your personal information. We do not sell personal informationand we do not "share" it as defined under the CPRA for cross-context behavioral advertising.
• Right to non-discrimination for exercising any of these rights.

Depending on where you live, you may have similar rights under other laws (e.g., Virginia CDPA, Colorado CPA). To exercise any of these rights, contact us at the address in Section 11.

Our Site honors the "Do Not Track" (DNT) browser signal. If your browser sends DNT, our first-party analytics endpoint will not record events for your session.

The Site is not directed to children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe a child has provided us with personal information, contact us and we will delete it.

We implement reasonable administrative, technical, and physical safeguards designed to protect the information we collect. No method of transmission over the Internet or method of electronic storage is 100% secure, however, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

The Site is operated from the United States of America. If you access it from outside the U.S., you understand that your information will be processed in the U.S., which may have data-protection laws different from those in your jurisdiction.

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we do, we will revise the "Last Updated" date at the top of this page and, where appropriate, notify you by email or a prominent notice on the Site.

Questions or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or your personal information can be sent to our privacy contact via the address published on the Site's contact channel. We will respond within a reasonable period, and in any event within the timeframes required by applicable law.