Privacy Policy

Effective Date / Last Updated: April 2, 2024

Your privacy is important to us.


We do not rent, sell, share, trade, or otherwise make your personal data available to any person or business, except as required to provide the products and services on this Site/App.

This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect from you, how we use that information, when/if we disclose that information to third parties, how we protect your information, and your rights as a user of this Site/App and owner of your information. See the full details of our privacy policy below.

The signingsavvy.com website (the “Site/App”) and Signing Savvy Member App (the “App” and collectively the “Site/App”) are owned and operated by Signing Savvy LLC (“we”, “us”, or “our”). Signing Savvy is Deaf owned, Coda owned, and hearing owned.

Signing Savvy respects your privacy and takes protecting it seriously. Through this Site/App, we may collect certain information about you. This information may identify an individual user and/or could be used to contact or locate an individual user.

When you use this Site/App, you are consenting to the collection, transfer, storage, disclosure, and other use of your information as described in this Privacy Policy. Please review this Privacy Policy.

This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect from you, how we use that information, when/if we disclose that information to third parties, how we protect your information, and your rights as a user of this Site/App and owner of your information.

This Privacy Policy only applies to this Site/App and to the communications, products, and services provided through this Site/App. It does not apply to any third-party Site/App or service linked to, recommended by, or referred by this Site/App.

What is Personally Identifiable Information?

Personally Identifiable Information is data that may identify you. This includes name, address, email address, telephone number, IP address, cookies, usage data, password, or any other identifying information where you can be contacted, online or offline.

We do not rent, sell, share, trade, or otherwise make your personal data available to any person or business, except as required to provide the products and services on this Site/App.

What information do we collect and how is it used?

Information Provided By You

  • If you comment on our Site/App, sign up for our email newsletter, or contact us through the Contact Us page on our Site/App, we will collect your name and email address. This information may be made available to a third-party email delivery service. You may unsubscribe any time by clicking the link at the bottom of any email. If you have any issues, please contact us through our contact form or email address listed at the bottom of this Privacy Policy.
  • If you make a purchase from this Site/App, we may collect name, email address, telephone number, address, and/or credit card number. We use third-party vendors to process payments. By making a purchase, you give them access to personal data including your name, email address, and credit card information. We do our best to choose vendors carefully. However, we are not liable for any data breaches and are not responsible for any damages or harm incurred as a result of these third-party vendors. We only have access to your name and email when you make a purchase. We do not store or have access to your credit card information.
  • If you register for a Signing Savvy account and create a user profile on our Site/App, you will be asked to create a username and password. We may access your name and username, but we do not have access to your password.
  • If you create an educational institution, non-educational institution, or library account, you will likely provide the name of your organization and your contact information at that organization.
  • If you create an account, either when registering or making a purchase, we ask you some optional demographic questions. All of the demographic questions are optional. These questions include: why are you interested in sign language, the year you were born, gender, how you found out about Signing Savvy, and if someone recommended Signing Savvy to you. If you provide answers to these questions, they are only for internal Signing Savvy use to help us better understand you and how to best serve you. The answers to these questions are never shared with other companies.
  • If you are a Signing Savvy member, you may create word lists of signs. When creating a word list, you specify the privacy settings for the word list to be (1) Private – Only you can view this list., (2) Unlisted – Anyone with the direct link can view this list., (3) Shared – Anyone can search for and view this list. Shared word lists can be found from the “Shared Lists” page. You can change these settings on any of your word lists at any time by going to the word list, clicking “Manage this Word List,” then click on the “Edit Details” button, and choose the setting you prefer under the “Access” dropdown item. Your shared word lists will also list your author name / nickname. The default author name / nickname is “Savvy User” plus your first name. You can set or change your author name / nickname at any time on the “My Account” page, under “Account Info” and click on “change profile information” to change your “Nickname” to what you would like displayed publicly.

This information may be used to create your account, to deliver email newsletters and updates, to respond to messages/emails from you, to improve customer service, to communicate with you about products and services you’ve purchased, to improve our current products and services, to offer you additional products and services, and/or to bill you. We also use that information to the extent necessary to enforce the Site/App Terms of Use and to prevent imminent harm to persons or property.

Information Provided Automatically Or By Others

Other information may be collected automatically, like Google Analytics. This information may include things like location, where you go on this Site/App, when you visit, what links you click, your IP address, your browser type/version, and what type of device you’re connecting from. This information is used as statistical data only and does not include personal data. This information may be used by others to personalize ads.

Some third parties may use cookies or other tracking methods to collect similar information.

This information is used to create content, products, and/or services we think would be beneficial to you. We also use this information to track advertising and improve user experiences on our Site/App.

Cookies

We also use cookies to collect certain information from all users, including web visitors who don’t buy anything. A cookie is a string of data our system sends to your computer and then uses that data to identify your computer when you return to our Site/App.

Cookies give usage data like how often you visit, where you go on the Site/App, and what you do on the Site/App. Cookies also help provide a more customized experience when you visit our Site/App.

You can refuse to accept cookies by using the setting on your web browser. You can also delete past cookies in the same way. However, if you refuse cookies, you may not be able to use all the features on our Site/App.

We use cookies so our Site/App can remember you and provide you with the information you most likely need. For example, to save your preferences and improve your user experience.

We use cookie information to compile statistical information about the use of our Site/App, such as the time users spend on the Site/App and the pages they visit most often. Those statistics do not include personal data like name, email address, etc.

We may have third-party content and/or advertisements on this Site/App that use cookies. We do not have control over these third-party cookies. If you have any questions or concerns, you should contact the third-party directly.

Types Of Cookies We Use

  • Strictly necessary cookies: These cookies are used to browse the Site/App and use its features. This includes things like saving your sessions, login details, and other information required to carry out other activities. These are used to save your browsing preferences and optimize your experience on the Site/App.
  • Analytics cookies: These cookies are used to track where you go on the Site/App and when you visit. This information is used to track traffic to the Site/App and may be used to personalize ads.
  • Security cookies: These cookies are used to detect malware, viruses, and monitor for breaches to our Terms of Use.
  • Customization cookies: These cookies allow the Site/App to save your information like logins and usernames to make it easier for you to use the Site/App.
  • Social media cookies and pixels: These cookies make it possible to share Site/App content on social media like Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter and other external platforms.
  • Targeting or advertising cookies: These cookies are used to monitor your browsing activity before and after you use the Site/App to personalize ads relevant to your interests. This information may be shared with third-party ad networks.

If you have any questions or comments about this Cookie Policy, please contact us through our contact form or email address listed at the bottom of this Privacy Policy.

Disclosure To Third-Parties

As Required By Law

We may disclose your personal data to attorneys, collection agencies, or law enforcement authorities if required by law.

Third-Party Service Providers

We may use third-party vendors to provide various services on this Site/App. These third-party services will be governed by their individual privacy policies. If you have any questions about these third-parties’ privacy practices, you should consult their specific privacy policies or reach out to them directly. We use the following third-party providers:

  • Email Delivery Service Provider: We are our own email service provider. When you email us or use our contact form, you are covered by this Privacy Policy. However, we use a third-party delivery service provider to deliver email newsletters, updates, and/or email marketing. We use Mailchimp as our email delivery service provider. Mailchimp will have access to your name, email address and Signing Savvy account type (individual, educational institution, or library). Mailchimp is an email marketing sending service provided by The Rocket Science Group LLC. For more information on the privacy practices of Mailchimp, please visit Mailchimp’s Privacy Policy page.
  • Payment Processor: We use Paypal to process payments for our ecommerce business. Paypal will have access to your personal data including name, address, and credit card number. We only receive information to fulfill your order and have no access to your payment information. These payment processors adhere to the standards set by PCI-DSS as managed by the PCI Security Standards Council, which is a joint effort of brands like Visa, Mastercard, American Express and Discover. PCI-DSS requirements help ensure the secure handling of payment information. For more information on the privacy practices of Paypal, please visit Paypal’s Privacy Policy page.
  • Analytics Provider: We use Google Analytics for statistical data only and we do not share your personal or account data with them. Google Analytics tracks information like location, where you go on this Site/App, when you visit, what links you click, your IP address, your browser type/version, and what type of device you’re connecting from. This information is used as statistical data only and does not include personal data. This information is used to create content, products, and/or services we think would be beneficial to you, and to improve user experiences on our Site/App. This information may be used by others to personalize ads. You can opt-out of having made your activity on the Site available to Google Analytics by installing the Google Analytics opt-out browser add-on. The add-on prevents the Google Analytics JavaScript (ga.js, analytics.js and dc.js) from sharing information with Google Analytics about visits activity. You may opt-out of certain Google Analytics features through your mobile device settings, such as your device advertising settings or by following the instructions provided by Google in their Google Privacy Policy. For more information on the privacy practices of Google, please visit Google’s Privacy & Terms webpage.
  • Advertising Providers: We use Google AdSense and Sovrn Holdings to serve advertisements on this Site. There are no ads in our App. If you have a Signing Savvy membership, ads are turned completely off for the Site by default. In these cases where no ads are displayed, no information is shared with third-party advertising providers. If you are not a Signing Savvy member, or choose to turn ads on for your account, we may have third-party content and/or advertisements on this Site that use cookies. We do not have control over these third-party cookies. If you have any questions or concerns, you should contact the third-party directly. We are not able to pre-approve ads, however, we have blocked categories of ads that we feel are inappropriate for the Site. If you see an ad that you believe should not be shown on this Site, please contact us at help@signingsavvy.com with information about the ad so we can request for the ad to be blocked from our Site. Google, as a third party vendor, uses cookies to serve ads on our Service. Google's use of the DoubleClick cookie enables it and its partners to serve ads to our users based on their visit to our Service or other websites on the Internet. You may opt out of the use of the DoubleClick Cookie for interest-based advertising by visiting the Google Ads Settings webpage. Sovrn Holdings is another third-party vendor we use to serve ads. For more information on the privacy practices of Sovrn, please visit Sovrn’s Privacy Policy page.
  • Product Referral Provider: We use Amazon Associates to provide product referral links. These are typically very targeted product suggestions paired with our content, for example, a book recommendation. The Amazon Services LLC Associates Program is an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking signingsavvy.com to Amazon properties. That means Signing Savvy may contain affiliate links. If you make a purchase after clicking on an affiliate link, your cost will be exactly the same regardless, but Signing Savvy will automatically receive a small commission. For more information on the privacy practices of Amazon, please visit Amazon’s Privacy Policy webpage.
  • Captcha Security Provider: We use an invisible captcha service named reCAPTCHA. reCAPTCHA is operated by Google. The reCAPTCHA service may collect information from You and from Your Device for security purposes. For more information on the privacy practices of Google, please visit Google’s Privacy Policy webpage.

Other Third-Parties

We may disclose personally identifiable information to contractors, service providers, and other third-parties we use to reasonably support our business. We will only share your personal data with these third-parties to the extent necessary to provide our product and/or services to you.

In the event our business, or a portion thereof, is sold, or otherwise transferred, including bankruptcy, we may share personal data in connection with this transaction.

How We Protect Your Information

We employ data security tools to protect your personal data from unauthorized access, use, alteration, and disclosure.

In addition to general security practices, we use the following to protect your personal data:

  • Malware scanning
  • Secure Socket Layer (SSL) certificate
  • We use a secure server. All supplied sensitive/credit information is transmitted via Secure Socket Layer (SSL) technology and then encrypted into our Payment gateway providers database only to be accessible by those authorized with special access rights to such systems, and are required to keep the information confidential.
  • All data is encrypted with HTTPS encryption in transit. All passwords are encrypted at rest.
  • Your private information (credit cards, financials, etc.) will not be stored on our servers.
  • Our payment processors adhere to the standards set by PCI-DSS as managed by the PCI Security Standards Council, which is a joint effort of brands like Visa, Mastercard, American Express and Discover. PCI-DSS requirements help ensure the secure handling of payment information.
  • We follow the NIST Cybersecurity Framework. For more information on this framework visit the NIST’s Cyber Security Framework.
  • We follow the Data Breach Response Guidelines from the Federal Trade Commission. For more information on these guidelines visit the FTC’s Data Breach Response: A Guide for Business.

In the event of a data security breach, we will notify you by contacting you using the email address on your Signing Savvy account. When appropriate, we will also notify the relevant authorities as required by law.

Unfortunately, even with these measures, we cannot guarantee the security of your personal data. By using our Site/App, you acknowledge and agree that we make no such guarantee and you use the Site/App at your own risk.

California Privacy Rights (CCPA/CPRA)

As a California resident, you may request certain information regarding our disclosure of your personal data to third parties for their marketing purposes. To request this information, please contact us through our contact form or email address listed at the bottom of this Privacy Policy.

We have set our Google Ads settings so if the California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA) applies to you, you may be prompted with a message from our website generated by Google asking if you would like to opt out of the sale or sharing of the consumer’s personal information.

Rights under CCPA/CPRA

If you are a California resident, you have certain rights under CCPA (California Consumer Protection Act), subject to an identification and verification process. You have a right to:

  • Know about Personal Information that is collected, disclosed, or sold;
  • Request deletion of personal information
  • Opt-out of the sale of personal information
  • Non-discrimination for the exercise of your consumer privacy rights

We will not discriminate against you for exercising your consumer privacy rights. However, we may charge a different price or offer discounts, to the extent that doing so is reasonably related to the value of the applicable data. We may also offer financial incentives for the collection, sale, retention, and use of your Personal Information as permitted by the CCPA; such offers may result in different prices, rates, or quality levels, as long as they are reasonable.

All registered users and members of our Site may view and make any changes to their information at anytime by logging into their account and going to the 'My Account' page. Members may also create and modify their word lists at any time by going to the ‘My Lists” page. Members can not download Signing Savvy videos, as those are Signing Savvy’s intellectual property, but users can print or save a digital copy of their word list page that lists the words/terms/phrases they have pulled together into the word list.

Since the Site/App is not a linear experience with a completed state a user may reach, but a flexible learning resource tool, and many users are lifetime ASL learners who may use the Site/App for a period of time, then not use the Site/App for a period of time, and then return to use the Site/App again, we do not delete user accounts unprompted. Registered users and members can remove their account by logging in, going to the ‘My Account’ page, scrolling to the bottom of the page and clicking on the “Remove Account” button. If you remove your account you will no longer be able to login to Signing Savvy, you will lose any word lists you previously created using your account, and you will lose any membership status associated with your account.

You can exercise these rights by following the steps listed above or by contacting us through our contact form or email address listed at the bottom of this Privacy Policy. You can exercise these rights free of charge and your request will be processed as soon as possible and within 30 days.

European Union Privacy Rights (GDPR)

We have set our Google Ads settings so if the European Union Privacy Rights apply to you, you may be prompted with a message from our website generated by Google asking if you would like to consent to showing personalized or non-personalized ads.

Data Storage

This Site/App is a US based Site/App, so any information received will be transferred outside the European Economic Area (“EEA”). By using this Site/App and providing your personal data you agree to the transfer, storage, and processing of your data outside the EEA.

Data Retention

We will store and process your personal data for as long as necessary to carry out the purpose for which it has been collected or until consent is withdrawn. After this period expires, we will delete your personal data. Therefore, some of your rights, such as right to access, right to erasure, right to change, and the right to move may be limited to the time before deletion. All your rights relevant to your data are listed in a subsequent section of this Privacy Policy. If you have any questions, please contact us through our contact form or email address listed at the bottom of this Privacy Policy.

Lawful Basis of Processing Personal Data

We may process your personal data if:

  • You have given consent for one or more specific purposes;
  • The data is necessary to fulfill our agreement and/or obligations to you;
  • It is necessary to fulfill our legal obligations;
  • It is necessary for the purposes of our legitimate interests or that of a third-party.

Rights under GDPR

If you are located in the European Union, you have certain rights under GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation). You have a right to:

  • Withdraw your consent at any time;
  • Object to the processing of your personal data;
  • Access your data;
  • Verify and change your data;
  • Restrict processing of your data;
  • Have your personal data deleted and/or removed;
  • Receive and move your personal data;
  • Lodge a complaint.

All registered users and members of our Site may view and make any changes to their information at any time by logging into their account and going to the 'My Account' page. Members may also create and modify their word lists at any time by going to the ‘My Lists” page. Members cannot download Signing Savvy videos, as those are Signing Savvy’s intellectual property, but users can print or save a digital copy of their word list page that lists the words/terms/phrases they have pulled together into the word list.

Since the Site/App is not a linear experience with a completed state a user may reach, but a flexible learning resource tool, and many users are lifetime ASL learners who may use the Site/App for a period of time, then not use the Site/App for a period of time, and then return to use the Site/App again, we do not delete user accounts unprompted. Registered users and members can remove their account by logging in, going to the ‘My Account’ page, scrolling to the bottom of the page and clicking on the “Remove Account” button. If you remove your account, you will no longer be able to login to Signing Savvy, you will lose any word lists you previously created using your account, and you will lose any membership status associated with your account.

You can exercise these rights by following the steps listed above or by contacting us through our contact form or email address listed at the bottom of this Privacy Policy. You can exercise these rights free of charge and your request will be processed as soon as possible and always within 30 days.

COPPA / Children’s Privacy

Signing Savvy’s Site/App is not specifically directed to children; however, it is directed at anyone interested in learning American Sign Language and accessing an American Sign Language reference tool, which may include people of any age. When creating an account, we state: “I agree that I am 18 years of age or older OR I have received permission from my parent or guardian before creating this Signing Savvy account. When membership is purchased, we assume consent has been granted since a payment method has been provided.”

There are no ads in our App. If you have a Signing Savvy membership, ads are turned completely off for the Site by default. In these cases where no ads are displayed, no information is shared with third-party advertising providers. It is recommended children use a membership account because in addition to accessing all our learning tools, membership accounts do not see ads, therefore, the account behavior is not being tracked and shared with third-party ad providers.

The minimum information required to create an account is: name and an email address (plus payment information and zip code, which should be from an adult).

In many cases, we recommend a parent/guardian create a Signing Savvy account that they then allow their young child/children to use. Our Terms state Signing Savvy accounts are single-user accounts, which means only one person is authorized to use your user ID and password to access your account on the Site/App, however, one exception to this rule is a parent/guardian allowing their minor child or children to use their account. In addition to a parent/guardian allowing their minor child to use their account, we hope they would also use the account together to learn American Sign Language. This allows minor children to use the Site/App without providing their own personal information.

Since accounts allow users to create their own word lists to be used for quizzing and flash cards, it may be preferred for a child to have their own account if the parent is also actively using the account or if they have multiple children using the Site/App. If a parent/guardian prefers a child to have their own account, that is allowed as long as the parent gives the child consent. When membership is purchased, we assume consent has been granted since a payment method has been provided.

Signing Savvy is also used in schools and educational settings as a learning resource and tool. When purchasing membership that students will use, schools create an educational account with an administrator (or multiple administrators) that create, manage, and allocate membership accounts. These admins create and allocate memberships to their students and are responsible for obtaining consent for using the Site/App based on the age of the student, the school’s policies, and any applicable laws or regulations. Each account must be registered with a username, which is an email address, and a password. Some schools choose to use the student’s school email address when creating a Signing Savvy account. Other schools have chosen to use non-school emails, such as emails that are not personally identifiable (don’t have the student’s name in the email address). Some schools also choose to use a generic email address on the school’s domain, like student1@school.edu or student2@school.edu (where school.edu equals their school’s domain name), sometimes they use email addresses like this that are fake because they don’t want to create new, real school emails for the students (Note: The school’s domain is used to ensure that someone else’s email is not used in error).

Although our Terms state users must provide accurate information, there is one exception to this rule – when an educator with a Signing Savvy Education Membership Account is creating a student account for a child and they wish to provide no personally identifiable information for the student, and do not have a better option, and they notify Signing Savvy at help@signingsavvy.com prior to creating the account that they are doing this. However, it is important to note that this means there will be no way to use the “forgot password” feature on our website and Signing Savvy Support will need to be contacted to reset any forgotten passwords. Further, there is no way to verify the account which is required to provide comments on blog articles and signs. Although we allow this exception for student accounts, the teacher and admin accounts must follow the policy of providing accurate information for their own accounts. As described above, the school and school admins can choose the email address that works best for them based on the age of the student and the school’s policies (they should consider how they register students for other similar educational learning apps used in school and as a school-to-home tool).

This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect from you, how we use that information, when/if we disclose that information to third parties, how we protect your information, and your rights as a user of this Site/App and owner of your information.

All registered users and members of our Site may view and make any changes to their information at any time by logging into their account and going to the 'My Account' page. Members may also create and modify their word lists at any time by going to the ‘My Lists” page. Members can NOT download Signing Savvy videos, as those are Signing Savvy’s intellectual property, but users can print or save a digital copy of their word list page that lists the words/terms/phrases they have pulled together into the word list.

Since the Site/App is not a linear experience with a completed state a user may reach, but a flexible learning resource tool, and many users are lifetime ASL learners who may use the Site/App for a period of time, then not use the Site/App for a period of time, and then return to use the Site/App again, we do not delete user accounts unprompted. Registered users and members can remove their account by logging in, going to the ‘My Account’ page, scrolling to the bottom of the page and clicking on the “Remove Account” button. If you remove your account, you will no longer be able to login to Signing Savvy, you will lose any word lists you previously created using your account, and you will lose any membership status associated with your account.

If you want to have personal data deleted, you may follow the steps listed above or contact us through our contact form or email address listed at the bottom of this Privacy Policy.

If you believe a child under the age of 18 has created an account without parent/guardian consent, contact us through our contact form or email address listed at the bottom of this Privacy Policy.

Rights of Users

You can deny, access, delete, change, withdraw, and/or review the personal data provided to us at any time. However, if you decline to provide some personal data, we may not be able to provide certain services to you.

All registered users and members of our Site may view and make any changes to their information at any time by logging into their account and going to the 'My Account' page. Members may also create and modify their word lists at any time by going to the ‘My Lists” page. Members cannot download Signing Savvy videos, but they can print or save a digital copy of their word list page that lists the words/terms/phrases they have pulled together into the word list.

Since the Site/App is not a linear experience with a completed state a user may reach, but a flexible learning resource tool, and many users are lifetime ASL learners who may use the Site/App for a period of time, then not use the Site/App for a period of time, and then return to use the Site/App again, we do not delete user accounts unprompted. Registered users and members can remove their account by logging in, going to the ‘My Account’ page, scrolling to the bottom of the page and clicking on the “Remove Account” button. If you remove your account, you will no longer be able to login to Signing Savvy, you will lose any word lists you previously created using your account, and you will lose any membership status associated with your account.

If you want to have your personal data deleted, you may follow the steps listed above or contact us through our contact form or email address listed at the bottom of this Privacy Policy. We may be required by law to archive your information.

Terms and Conditions

Please also visit our Terms of Service agreement establishing the use, disclaimers, and limitations of liability governing the use of our website at https://www.signingsavvy.com/termsofservice.

Notification of Changes

We may change this Privacy Policy at any time by posting a new version on this page or a successor page. The new version will become effective on the date it’s posted, which will be listed at the top of the page as the new “Effective Date.” We will also notify you of changes by contacting you using the email address on your Signing Savvy account.

Contact Information

The signingsavvy.com website and Signing Savvy Member App are owned and operated by Signing Savvy LLC. For purposes of GDPR, our Data Controller is Signing Savvy LLC. Signing Savvy is Deaf owned, Coda owned, and hearing owned.

If there are any questions regarding this privacy policy, you may contact us using the information below.

Email: Use our Contact Form to send us an email.

Mailing Address:
Signing Savvy, LLC
2025 Central Park Drive #1009
Okemos, MI 48805
United States

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