Privacy Policy of Stratosphere Studies
Stratosphere Studies ("we," "our," or "us"), located at 789 Elmwood Drive, Suite 200, Edmonton, Alberta, T5J 2M7, Canada, is committed to protecting the privacy and security of your personal information. This Privacy Policy describes how we collect, use, and disclose information when you visit our website, participate in our educational tours, workshops, experiential travel packages, or engage with our meteorological research, data collection, and storm chasing/aurora viewing expeditions.
Information We Collect
We collect various types of information in connection with the services we provide:
- Personal Identification Information: This includes your name, address, email address, phone number, date of birth, passport details (for international travel), and emergency contact information when you register for our services, tours, or workshops.
- Payment Information: When you make a purchase, we collect necessary payment details such as credit card numbers or other financial account information. This information is processed securely by third-party payment processors.
- Health and Dietary Information: For the safety and well-being of participants on our expeditions and tours, we may ask for relevant health information, dietary restrictions, and medical conditions. This information is treated with the utmost confidentiality.
- Technical Data: When you visit our site, we automatically collect certain information about your device, including your IP address, browser type, operating system, referring URLs, and how you interact with our online platform.
- Correspondence: Records of communications, including emails or other forms of contact with our team regarding inquiries, bookings, or feedback.
- Photographs and Videos: During our tours and expeditions, photographs and videos may be taken for promotional purposes or to document the experience. We will always seek your consent before using images where you are identifiably featured.
How We Use Your Information
We use the information we collect for the following purposes:
- Service Provision: To provide and manage the educational tours, workshops, travel packages, and research activities you have booked or expressed interest in.
- Communication: To communicate with you about your bookings, provide updates, respond to inquiries, and send important service-related messages.
- Safety and Emergency: To ensure the safety of all participants on our expeditions and to act in case of emergencies, using provided health and emergency contact information.
- Improvement of Services: To analyze how our services are used and to improve the quality, relevance, and safety of our educational offerings and expeditions.
- Marketing and Promotion: With your consent, to send you information about new tours, workshops, special offers, or other news we think might be of interest.
- Legal Compliance: To comply with legal obligations, enforce our terms and conditions, and protect our rights, privacy, safety, or property, and that of our users or the public.
Sharing Your Information
We may share your information with:
- Service Providers: Third-party vendors and service providers who perform functions on our behalf, such as payment processing, travel arrangements (flights, accommodation), data analysis, and marketing assistance. These parties are contractually obligated to protect your information and use it only for the purposes for which it was disclosed.
- Legal Requirements: When required by law or in response to valid requests by public authorities (e.g., a court or government agency).
- Business Transfers: In connection with a merger, acquisition, or sale of all or a portion of our assets, your information may be transferred.
Data Retention
We retain your personal information only for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes for which it was collected, including for the purposes of satisfying any legal, accounting, or reporting requirements. When we no longer need your information, we will securely delete or anonymize it.
Your Data Protection Rights (GDPR)
If you are a resident of the European Economic Area (EEA), you have certain data protection rights under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). These rights include:
- The right to access: You have the right to request copies of your personal data.
- The right to rectification: You have the right to request that we correct any information you believe is inaccurate or complete information you believe is incomplete.
- The right to erasure: You have the right to request that we erase your personal data, under certain conditions.
- The right to restrict processing: You have the right to request that we restrict the processing of your personal data, under certain conditions.
- The right to object to processing: You have the right to object to our processing of your personal data, under certain conditions.
- The right to data portability: You have the right to request that we transfer the data that we have collected to another organization, or directly to you, under certain conditions.
To exercise any of these rights, please contact us using the details provided below.
Security of Your Information
We employ a variety of security measures to protect your personal information from unauthorized access, use, or disclosure. We use secure servers, encryption, and restricted access to data. However, no method of transmission over the internet or electronic storage is 100% secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.
Changes to This Privacy Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices or for other operational, legal, or regulatory reasons. We will notify you of any material changes by posting the new Privacy Policy on this page and updating the "last updated" date. We encourage you to review this Privacy Policy periodically.
Contact Us
If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or our data practices, please contact us:
Stratosphere Studies
789 Elmwood Drive, Suite 200
Edmonton, Alberta, T5J 2M7
Canada