Privacy Policy for Ikigai Compass

This Privacy Policy explains what personal information Ikigai Compass collects, why we collect it, how we use it, and what rights you have over it — in plain language, without legalese padding.

Your privacy matters to us. We operate ikigaicompass.club (the "Site"), a purpose-driven career design course and blog. By using this Site you agree to the practices described below. If you disagree, please stop using the Site.

We are based in Canada and comply primarily with the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA). We also respect the obligations of the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), and other applicable laws for visitors from outside Canada.

1. Who We Are

Ikigai Compass is the operator of ikigaicompass.club, a blog and online course platform focused on ikigai, life purpose, and career design. We are a Canadian-based entity. For privacy inquiries, you can reach us at the contact details provided in Section 15.

2. What Information We Collect

We collect information in two ways: information you provide directly, and information collected automatically when you browse the Site.

Information You Provide

• Name and email address — when you subscribe to our newsletter, create an account, or purchase a course.
• Payment information — collected and processed by Stripe on our behalf. We do not store your full card number on our servers.
• Course-related inputs — responses to prompts, assessments, or AI-generated reports within the course platform.
• Messages or inquiries — if you contact us by email or through a contact form.

Information Collected Automatically

• IP address and approximate location — derived from your IP at the country/city level, not your precise GPS coordinates.
• Browser type, device type, and operating system.
• Pages visited, time on page, referral source, and clicks — collected via Google Analytics.
• Search queries that led you to the Site — visible in Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools.
• Cookies and similar technologies — for analytics, advertising, and session management (see Section 4).

3. How We Use Your Information

We use the data we collect for specific, legitimate purposes only:

• To deliver the course content and AI-generated reports you purchased.
• To process payments securely through Stripe.
• To send transactional emails (receipts, course access, password resets).
• To send our newsletter and content updates, if you opted in. You can unsubscribe at any time.
• To analyze Site traffic and improve content using Google Analytics and Search Console.
• To serve relevant ads via Google AdSense (interest-based advertising).
• To monitor Site performance in Bing Webmaster Tools.
• To respond to your support requests or inquiries.
• To detect fraud or abuse and maintain Site security.
• To comply with legal obligations.

4. Cookies & Tracking Technologies

Cookies are small text files stored in your browser. We and our third-party partners use cookies for the following purposes:

Essential Cookies

Required for the Site to function: user sessions, shopping cart state, and security tokens. These cannot be disabled without breaking core functionality.

Analytics Cookies

We use Google Analytics to understand how visitors interact with the Site — which pages are popular, how long people stay, and where traffic comes from. These cookies are not strictly necessary and can be opted out of.

Advertising Cookies

We display ads through Google AdSense. Google and its partners may use cookies to show ads based on your browsing history across sites. You can opt out of personalized advertising at adssettings.google.com or via the Digital Advertising Alliance opt-out.

How to Control Cookies

You can control cookies through your browser settings. Most browsers let you block or delete cookies. Note that disabling certain cookies may affect Site functionality. For more, visit allaboutcookies.org.

5. Google Services

Google Analytics

We use Google Analytics 4 to collect aggregated, anonymized data about how visitors use the Site. Google Analytics uses cookies to distinguish users. The data is transmitted to Google servers in the United States. We have enabled IP anonymization where available. You can opt out using the Google Analytics Opt-Out Browser Add-on.

Google's privacy policy applies to data processed through Analytics: policies.google.com/privacy.

Google Search Console

We use Google Search Console to monitor the Site's presence in Google Search results. Search Console shows us aggregate data about search queries that led users to our Site. This tool does not track individual users on our site — it provides anonymized keyword and click data.

Google AdSense

We monetize the Site with Google AdSense. AdSense places ads on our pages and may use cookies, web beacons, and similar technologies to collect data about your browsing behavior across sites to show you relevant ads. This constitutes interest-based (behavioral) advertising.

For Canadian visitors: under PIPEDA, interest-based advertising requires your consent. A cookie consent notice is displayed when you first visit the Site. You may withdraw consent at any time.

For EU/EEA visitors: AdSense operates under Google's EU User Consent Policy. We collect your consent before enabling personalized ads.

For California residents: AdSense may qualify as a "sale" of personal information under CCPA. You may opt out via "Do Not Sell My Personal Information" (see Section 10).

6. Bing Webmaster Tools

We use Bing Webmaster Tools (operated by Microsoft) to monitor Site performance in Bing search results. Like Google Search Console, this provides aggregate, anonymized data about search queries and clicks. It does not track individual visitor sessions on the Site. Microsoft's privacy policy governs this data: privacy.microsoft.com.

7. Payments via Stripe

All payment processing is handled by Stripe, Inc., a PCI-DSS Level 1 certified payment processor. When you purchase our course, you enter your payment details directly into Stripe's secure form — we never see or store your full credit card number, CVV, or banking credentials on our servers.

We do receive and store the following from Stripe for our records: your name, email, billing country, last 4 digits of your card, payment amount, and transaction ID.

Stripe may also collect device data and behavioral signals to detect fraud. Stripe's privacy policy: stripe.com/privacy.

8. Third-Party Sharing

We share your data with third parties only in the following circumstances:

• Service providers: Stripe (payments), Google (analytics/ads), Microsoft (Bing Webmaster), email service providers, and our web hosting provider — all bound by data processing agreements.
• Legal compliance: If required by law, court order, or Canadian/international regulatory authority.
• Business transfer: If we sell or transfer our business, your data may be part of that transaction. We will notify you before your data is transferred to a new privacy policy.
• With your consent: Any other sharing only with your explicit prior consent.

We do not share your data with advertisers directly. Google AdSense manages its own data relationships with advertisers.

9. Data Retention

We keep your data only as long as necessary for the purposes described in this policy:

• Account and course data: For the duration of your account plus 2 years after account deletion.
• Purchase records: 7 years (Canadian tax law requirement).
• Email marketing data: Until you unsubscribe, plus 30 days.
• Analytics data: As per Google Analytics retention settings (default: 14 months for event data).
• Support inquiries: 2 years from last contact.

When data is no longer needed, we securely delete or anonymize it.

10. Your Rights

Depending on where you live, you have the following rights regarding your personal data:

For All Visitors (PIPEDA — Canada)

• Access: Request a copy of the personal information we hold about you.
• Correction: Ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete information.
• Withdrawal of consent: Withdraw consent for non-essential data processing at any time.
• Complaint: File a complaint with the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada at priv.gc.ca.

For EU / EEA Visitors (GDPR)

• Right to erasure ("right to be forgotten").
• Right to data portability — receive your data in a structured, machine-readable format.
• Right to object to processing for direct marketing or legitimate interests.
• Right to restrict processing in certain circumstances.
• Right to lodge a complaint with your local supervisory authority.

For California Residents (CCPA)

• Right to know what personal information we collect and how we use it.
• Right to delete personal information we hold (subject to exceptions).
• Right to opt out of the sale of personal information. To exercise this right, email us at the address in Section 15 with the subject line "Do Not Sell My Information".
• Right to non-discrimination — we will not discriminate against you for exercising your CCPA rights.

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at the details in Section 15. We will respond within 30 days. We may need to verify your identity before processing your request.

11. Children's Privacy

This Site is not directed to children under the age of 13 (or 16 in the EU). We do not knowingly collect personal information from minors. If you believe a child has provided us with personal information, please contact us immediately and we will delete it.

12. Security

We implement reasonable technical and organizational measures to protect your personal information against unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, or destruction. These include SSL/TLS encryption for data in transit, restricted access controls, and secure password practices.

However, no method of transmission over the internet is 100% secure. We cannot guarantee absolute security, and we encourage you to use strong, unique passwords and be cautious about phishing attempts.

13. International Data Transfers

Your data may be transferred to and processed in countries outside Canada, including the United States, where our third-party service providers (Google, Stripe, Microsoft) operate. These countries may have different data protection laws than Canada.

Where required, we rely on appropriate safeguards for such transfers, including Standard Contractual Clauses (for GDPR purposes) and the data processing agreements we have with our service providers.

14. Changes to This Policy

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. For material changes, we will notify registered users by email at least 14 days before the changes take effect. Your continued use of the Site after that date constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

We recommend reviewing this page periodically. Previous versions of this policy are available on request.