Privacy Policy

1. Who We Are

WorldOpt Institute is a nonprofit organization based in the United States.

For purposes of applicable data protection laws, WorldOpt Institute is the organization responsible for the processing of personal information described in this Privacy Policy unless otherwise stated.

2. Personal Information We Collect

Information You Provide to Us

We may collect information that you voluntarily provide, including:

• your name;
• your email address;
• information contained in messages or inquiries you send to us;
• information you provide when subscribing to updates or communications;
• information associated with donations or other transactions;
• any other information you choose to provide through forms or correspondence.

Please do not submit sensitive personal information unless it is necessary for the purpose of your communication.

Information Collected Automatically

When you visit our website, certain technical information may be collected automatically by our website, hosting provider, security services, or other technologies used to operate the site.

This information may include:

• IP address;
• browser type and version;
• device type;
• operating system;
• referring website or page;
• pages visited;
• date and time of access;
• approximate geographic information derived from an IP address;
• cookie identifiers and similar technical information;
• diagnostic, security, and server-log information.

3. How We Use Personal Information

We may use personal information for the following purposes:

• to operate, maintain, and secure our website;
• to respond to questions, inquiries, and correspondence;
• to process and administer donations;
• to provide information or communications you have requested;
• to manage subscriptions to newsletters or organizational updates, where offered;
• to understand how our website is used and improve its functionality and content;
• to detect, prevent, and investigate spam, fraud, abuse, security incidents, and technical problems;
• to maintain records necessary for administrative, accounting, tax, and legal purposes;
• to comply with applicable laws, regulations, court orders, or other legal obligations;
• to establish, exercise, or defend legal claims.

We will not use personal information for materially different purposes without providing appropriate notice or obtaining consent where required.

4. Legal Bases for Processing

Where the European Union General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”), UK GDPR, or similar laws apply, we process personal information only where we have an appropriate legal basis.

Consent

We may rely on your consent for activities such as:

• non-essential cookies or tracking technologies;
• optional analytics;
• marketing communications or newsletters.

Where processing is based on consent, you may withdraw your consent at any time. Withdrawal of consent does not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out before consent was withdrawn.

Legitimate Interests

We may process information where necessary for our legitimate interests, provided those interests are not overridden by your rights and interests.

These interests may include:

• operating and improving our website;
• responding to communications;
• maintaining website security;
• preventing fraud and misuse;
• administering and improving WorldOpt’s activities.

Contractual Necessity

Where you request a service, make a donation, or enter into another arrangement with us, we may process information where necessary to take steps at your request or perform our obligations.

Legal Obligations

We may process and retain information where necessary to comply with applicable legal, accounting, tax, regulatory, or reporting requirements.

5. Donations and Payment Information

WorldOpt may provide visitors with the ability to make donations.

Payments may be processed by third-party payment service providers. When you submit payment information, that information may be collected directly by the applicable payment provider rather than being stored by WorldOpt.

Payment providers may process information such as:

• your name;
• contact information;
• payment card or account details;
• billing information;
• transaction information;
• fraud-prevention information.

Their handling of personal information is governed by their own privacy policies and terms.

WorldOpt may receive information relating to a donation, such as your name, contact information, donation amount, date of donation, payment status, and transaction reference, where necessary to administer donations and maintain appropriate records.

6. Cookies and Similar Technologies

Our website uses cookies and similar technologies for purposes such as website functionality, preferences, security, statistics, and, where applicable, marketing.

Where required by law, optional cookies are disabled until you provide consent.

You can accept, reject, or customize non-essential cookies using the consent-management controls available on our website.

You may also withdraw or modify your consent at any time by reopening the website’s consent preferences.

For additional information about cookies used on this website, including their purposes and duration, please see our Cookie Policy.

7. Analytics and Third-Party Services

We may use third-party services to operate, secure, host, analyze, or improve our website.

Depending on the services enabled on the website, these providers may process technical information such as your IP address, browser information, device information, cookie identifiers, or usage information.

Where a service requires consent under applicable law, it will only be activated after the appropriate consent has been obtained.

We encourage you to review the privacy policies of third-party services you interact with.

8. Embedded Content and External Websites

Pages on this website may contain embedded content or links to third-party websites or services.

Embedded content may include, for example:

• videos;
• maps;
• social media content;
• external documents or resources.

When you interact with third-party content, the third party may receive information about your device or interaction in accordance with its own privacy practices.

WorldOpt is not responsible for the privacy practices, security, or content of websites operated by third parties.

We encourage you to review their privacy policies before providing personal information.

9. Email and Communications

If you contact us by email or through a website form, we may retain your message, contact information, and related correspondence for as long as reasonably necessary to respond to your request and maintain appropriate records.

If you subscribe to a newsletter or similar electronic communication, you may unsubscribe at any time by using the unsubscribe mechanism provided in the communication or by contacting us.

We may still send administrative or transactional messages where necessary.

10. When We Share Personal Information

We may share personal information only where reasonably necessary for the purposes described in this Privacy Policy.

Recipients may include:

• website hosting and infrastructure providers;
• website security and technical service providers;
• email and communications providers;
• payment processors and donation service providers;
• analytics providers, where enabled and permitted;
• professional advisers such as accountants, lawyers, or auditors;
• governmental, regulatory, law-enforcement, or judicial authorities when legally required.

Service providers may process personal information only as necessary to provide services to us and subject to their applicable contractual and legal obligations.

We may also disclose information where reasonably necessary to protect the rights, safety, property, or security of WorldOpt, our users, or others.

11. Sale of Personal Information

WorldOpt does not intend to sell personal information for monetary consideration.

If our practices change or if an activity is considered a “sale”, “sharing”, or use for targeted advertising under an applicable U.S. state privacy law, we will provide any notices and opt-out mechanisms required by that law.

12. International Data Transfers

WorldOpt is based in the United States.

If you access our website from the European Economic Area, United Kingdom, Switzerland, or another jurisdiction outside the United States, your personal information may be processed in or transferred to the United States or another country.

Where required by applicable law, we take appropriate measures to protect personal information transferred internationally.

These measures may include contractual protections, adequacy decisions, Standard Contractual Clauses, or other lawful transfer mechanisms where applicable.

13. Data Retention

We retain personal information only for as long as reasonably necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, including legal, accounting, administrative, security, and reporting requirements.

Retention periods vary depending on the type of information and the reason it is processed.

• inquiries and correspondence may be retained for as long as needed to respond and maintain appropriate records;
• donation and financial records may be retained for periods required by applicable tax, accounting, and nonprofit recordkeeping obligations;
• server and security logs may be retained for a limited period for security, troubleshooting, and fraud-prevention purposes;
• information processed based solely on consent may be deleted or no longer used for that purpose after consent is withdrawn, unless another lawful basis requires retention.

When information is no longer required, we may delete, anonymize, or securely dispose of it.

14. Data Security

We use reasonable administrative, technical, and organizational safeguards designed to protect personal information against unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, misuse, loss, or destruction.

However, no website, transmission method, or electronic storage system can be guaranteed to be completely secure.

15. Your Privacy Rights

Depending on where you live and the laws that apply to you, you may have certain rights regarding your personal information.

These may include the right to:

• request confirmation of whether we process your personal information;
• request access to your personal information;
• request correction of inaccurate or incomplete information;
• request deletion of your personal information;
• request restriction of certain processing;
• object to certain processing;
• receive certain information in a portable format;
• withdraw consent where processing is based on consent;
• object to processing for direct marketing purposes;
• lodge a complaint with an applicable data protection or regulatory authority.

Some rights are subject to exceptions and limitations under applicable law.

To exercise a privacy right, contact us at info@worldopt.org.

We may need to verify your identity before fulfilling certain requests.

Where the GDPR applies, we will respond without undue delay and generally within one month of receiving a valid request, subject to extensions permitted by law.

16. Rights of European Economic Area and UK Residents

If the GDPR or UK GDPR applies to the processing of your personal information, you may have rights including:

• the right of access;
• the right to rectification;
• the right to erasure;
• the right to restrict processing;
• the right to object to processing;
• the right to data portability;
• the right to withdraw consent at any time;
• the right to lodge a complaint with a competent supervisory authority.

If you object to the processing of your personal information for direct marketing purposes, we will stop using your information for that purpose.

You may exercise these rights by contacting info@worldopt.org.

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the data protection authority responsible for your country or place of residence.

17. United States Privacy Rights

Residents of certain U.S. states may have additional privacy rights under applicable state law.

Depending on the law and whether it applies to WorldOpt, these rights may include:

• the right to know or access personal information;
• the right to correct inaccurate personal information;
• the right to request deletion;
• the right to obtain a portable copy of certain information;
• the right to opt out of certain sales, sharing, targeted advertising, or profiling;
• the right not to be discriminated against for exercising applicable privacy rights.

Because eligibility and rights vary between states, requests will be evaluated under the law applicable to the individual and WorldOpt.

Requests may be submitted to info@worldopt.org.

18. Global Privacy Control and Browser Signals

Where required by applicable law and technically supported by our consent-management system, we may recognize legally valid browser-based privacy preference signals, such as Global Privacy Control (“GPC”).

Such signals may be treated as requests to opt out of applicable data sales, sharing, or targeted advertising where required by law.

Cookie preferences can also be managed through the consent controls available on our website.

19. Children’s Privacy

Our website is intended for a general audience and is not designed for the purpose of collecting personal information from children.

We do not knowingly solicit personal information from children in violation of applicable law.

If you believe that a child has provided personal information through our website in circumstances where parental consent was required, please contact us at info@worldopt.org so that we can review and, where appropriate, remove the information.

20. Do Not Track

Some browsers provide a “Do Not Track” (“DNT”) setting.

Because there is not currently a universally accepted technical standard governing responses to DNT signals, our website may not respond to all DNT signals.

This is separate from legally recognized opt-out preference mechanisms such as Global Privacy Control where applicable.

21. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy periodically to reflect changes in our website, services, legal obligations, or privacy practices.

Material changes may be communicated through additional notice where appropriate or required by law.

We encourage visitors to review this Privacy Policy periodically.

22. Contact Us

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy, our privacy practices, or wish to exercise a privacy right, please contact: