Privacy Policy

1. Scope and operator

This Privacy Policy explains how Self Improvement Online, Inc. (“SelfGrowth,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) collects, uses, discloses, and protects information when you use SelfGrowth websites, applications, and related services that link to this policy (the “Services”).

This policy applies when you browse, create an account, maintain or claim a professional profile, contribute material, use an interactive feature, or contact us.

2. Plain-language summary

• You can browse most public content without creating an account.
• Information submitted for a public profile, article, guide, resource, video, rating, or event may be visible to anyone and indexed by search engines.
• We use account, technical, and usage information to operate, secure, and improve the Services.
• We use service providers for hosting, database, authentication, storage, transactional email, security, and other operational functions.
• We do not sell personal information for money.
• We do not use personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising unless we first update this policy and provide legally required choices.
• You can contact us to request access, correction, deletion, or other rights that apply where you live.

3. Information we collect

Information you provide

• Account and authentication information: email address, authentication identifiers, session information, account type, access status, role assignments, and short-lived sign-in context.
• Profile and contributor information: public name, biography, headline, credentials, certifications, professional details, website and contact links, profile images, topic selections, and information included in submitted material.
• Content and event information: articles, guides, resources, videos, event details, source links, author information, editorial status, ratings, and related communications.
• Communications: information in support messages, feedback, content concerns, copyright notices, privacy requests, and other correspondence.

Information collected automatically

We may collect browser and device characteristics, IP address, page path, referring page, approximate region, timestamps, security events, consent choices, and interactions needed to operate, protect, debug, and understand the Services.

Necessary cookies support authentication, security, passwordless sign-in, session continuity, and remembering privacy choices. Optional first-party analytics are controlled through Manage Cookie Preferences. See the Cookie Policy for the current category and control.

Location search

If you choose “Use my location,” your browser may provide coordinates for a one-time nearby-event search. You may instead enter a city, state, postal code, or place. Current design does not intentionally save a reader’s precise search coordinates or manual place query to the reader’s account, professional profile, ratings, or marketing profile. Public event locations are supplied for the event itself and may be displayed publicly.

Legacy and public sources

We maintain imported legacy articles, profiles, resources, videos, events, attribution records, and aggregate measurements for migration, publication, attribution, correction, compliance, and site operations.

We may also receive public professional, publication, credential, or business information from websites, directories, licensing bodies, and other sources when reviewing attribution or maintaining SelfGrowth’s topic and authority relationships. We may ask the subject of a profile to confirm or correct that information.

4. How we use information

We use information to:

• provide, authenticate, maintain, and secure the Services;
• create, review, organize, publish, update, and moderate profiles and contributed material;
• connect topics, contributors, experts, guides, articles, resources, videos, and events;
• process professional admissions and contributor or Official Guide requests;
• operate search, indexing, recommendations, ratings, authorized APIs, and SelfGrowth-operated AI-assisted discovery or synthesis;
• respond to support, privacy, attribution, correction, copyright, and removal requests;
• detect fraud, spam, malicious links, security threats, and misuse;
• measure and improve reliability, navigation, and content usefulness where permitted by your choices and applicable law;
• maintain records needed for audits, disputes, legal compliance, and policy enforcement; and
• protect the rights, safety, and integrity of SelfGrowth, users, contributors, and the public.

5. Public profiles and contributions

Published profiles, biographies, credentials, articles, guides, resource details, videos, event details, author information, ratings, and other contributions are public. They may appear in search engines, topic pages, archives, feeds, previews, authorized APIs, and SelfGrowth-operated discovery features.

Do not submit private information about yourself or another person unless you have the right and a genuine reason to make it public. Removing material from SelfGrowth may not remove copies already indexed, cached, shared, archived, or distributed by others.

6. Sensitive information and wellness-related interests

SelfGrowth may contain health, mental-health, relationship, financial, spiritual, and other sensitive topics, but it is not designed to collect medical records, diagnoses, treatment information, government identifiers, payment-card details, or emergency information. Please do not submit highly sensitive information unless we specifically request it through an appropriate secure process.

Some jurisdictions may treat wellness-related browsing, search, or interaction information as consumer health data. SelfGrowth does not sell this information or use it for cross-context behavioral advertising under the current design.

7. How we disclose information

We may disclose information in these circumstances:

• Public disclosure: information submitted for publication is displayed and distributed as described above.
• Service providers: providers of hosting, content delivery, database, authentication, storage, transactional email, security, observability, and consented analytics process information for us to perform services.
• Authorized representatives: we may work with a person or organization you authorize to manage a profile, contribution, or request.
• Legal and safety reasons: we may disclose information to comply with law or legal process, enforce policies, investigate fraud or security incidents, and protect rights, property, or safety.
• Professional advisers: lawyers, accountants, insurers, and other advisers may receive information when reasonably necessary to advise or protect the business.
• Business changes: information may transfer as part of a merger, financing, acquisition, reorganization, bankruptcy, or sale of all or part of the business, subject to applicable law.
• With your direction or consent: we may disclose information when you direct us to do so or provide valid consent.

We may use or disclose aggregated or de-identified information that is not reasonably capable of identifying you.

8. Sale, targeted advertising, and third-party services

SelfGrowth does not sell personal information for money. Under the current design, SelfGrowth does not share personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising.

If those practices change, we will update this policy and provide notices, consent, opt-out mechanisms, or browser-signal support required by applicable law before the new processing begins.

Third-party websites, embedded media, event registration pages, and services linked from SelfGrowth operate under their own privacy practices. Review their policies before providing information to them.

9. Retention

We retain information for as long as reasonably necessary for the purposes described in this policy. The period depends on the type of record, account or publication status, consent choices, security needs, contractual commitments, legal obligations, dispute needs, and whether the information remains part of the public historical record.

Short-lived sign-in context is designed to expire quickly. Security and diagnostic logs are generally retained for limited periods unless needed for an investigation. Privacy-request records may be kept to document our response. Published and legacy material may remain while its attribution, historical, discovery, or publication purpose continues. Backups and legal records may persist for a reasonable period after deletion from active systems.

10. Security

We use administrative, technical, and organizational safeguards intended to protect information. No online service or transmission method is completely secure, so we cannot guarantee absolute security.

Protect access to your email account and authentication methods. Contact us if you believe your SelfGrowth access or information has been compromised.

11. Your choices and privacy rights

Depending on where you live and subject to legal exceptions, you may have rights to access, know, correct, delete, export, restrict, object to, withdraw consent, opt out, limit use of sensitive information, or appeal a privacy decision. You may be able to use an authorized agent.

To submit a request, visit https://selfgrowth.app/privacy/requests or email webmaster@selfgrowth.com. Include enough information for us to understand the request, but do not send passwords, payment information, government identifiers, medical records, or other unnecessary sensitive information.

We may need to verify your identity or authority before acting. We will not discriminate against you for exercising an applicable privacy right. Some information may be exempt from a request or retained when needed for security, fraud prevention, legal compliance, disputes, public-interest publication, attribution, contractual rights, or other lawful purposes.

You can change optional analytics at any time through Manage Cookie Preferences.

12. Children

SelfGrowth is a general-audience service and is not directed to children under 13. Accounts, professional profiles, and contributor submissions are intended for adults age 18 or older. We do not knowingly permit a child under 13 to create an account or submit personal information through contributor features.

If you believe a child has provided personal information in violation of this policy, contact us so we can investigate and take appropriate action.

13. United States processing and international visitors

SelfGrowth is operated from the United States. Information may be processed in the United States and other locations where service providers operate. Those locations may have privacy laws different from the laws where you live. Where required, we use appropriate measures for international transfers.

14. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy when the Services, our practices, or legal requirements change. We will post the revised policy and update the date above. We may provide additional notice when a change is material or when applicable law requires it.

15. Contact