Privacy policy


Hypha Curates – Privacy Policy

Introduction

This Privacy Policy outlines the practices of Hypha Curates ("we," "us," or "our") regarding the collection, use, maintenance & disclosure of information gathered from users ("Users" or "you") of the www.hyphacurates.com website ("Site"). This policy applies to the Site and all products and services offered by Hypha Curates. We are committed to safeguarding your privacy & ensuring transparency in our data handling practices, in compliance with applicable data protection laws.

We endeavour to be transparent about our operational procedures & to foster a secure environment for the sharing of creative works, intellectual property & personal information.


Information we collect

Hypha Curates may collect personally identifiable information from Users through various direct & indirect means, including, but not limited to, when Users visit our Site, register on the Site, place an order, subscribe to our communications, respond to surveys, fill out forms, or engage with other activities, services, features, or resources made available on our Site.

1. Information you provide directly: When you register for an account, make an inquiry, or otherwise engage with our services, we may request the following personal data:

  • Identification data: Your full name.

  • Contact data: Your email address.

  • Account credentials: A password for secure access to your account.

  • Profile data: Information pertinent to your artist profile, which you choose to provide.

  • Financial data: Payment details if you engage in transactions such as purchasing or renting artwork. (Note: All payment processing is secured through reputable third-party payment gateways & Hypha Curates does not directly store sensitive payment card information on its servers).

2. Information collected automatically (technical & usage data): As you interact with our Site, we may automatically collect certain technical & usage data:

  • Cookies & tracking technologies: Small data files ("cookies") are placed on your device to help us remember your preferences, optimise site functionality & understand overall Site usage patterns. This includes both session cookies (which expire when you close your browser) & persistent cookies (which remain until deleted). You have the option to configure your web browser to refuse cookies or to alert you when cookies are being sent; however, disabling cookies may affect the functionality of certain areas of the Site.

  • Technical device data: This encompasses information such as your browser type, Internet Protocol (IP) address, operating system & device identifiers. This data aids in ensuring the optimal functioning, security & integrity of the Site.

  • Communication data: Any electronic or other correspondence you send to us, including inquiries, feedback, or support requests, may be collected to facilitate appropriate responses, address your concerns & continuously improve our services.

  • Website usage data: We may collect information about how you navigate & interact with our site, including pages visited, time spent on pages & clickstream data. This information is primarily used for analytical purposes to enhance user experience.

3. Information from Third-Party Sources:

  • Social media data: Depending on your privacy settings & the policies of social media services (e.g., Facebook, Instagram, X), you may grant us permission to access certain information from those accounts, such as your online behaviour or publicly available profile information. The majority of this collected behavior is anonymised.

  • Linked websites: Our Site may contain links to external websites that are not operated or controlled by Hypha Curates. We are not responsible for the privacy practices or content of these third-party sites. We strongly advise users to review the privacy policies of any external sites they visit.


How we use collected information

Hypha Curates collects & processes user personal information for the following specific & legitimate purposes:

  • Service provision & management: To establish & manage user accounts, process artwork submissions, facilitate transactions (e.g., purchases, rentals) & deliver the core services offered by Hypha Curates.

  • Communication & and engagement: To send periodic electronic communications, including newsletters, updates regarding opportunities (e.g., exhibitions, calls for art), promotional offers (with your consent) & important notices pertaining to your account or our services.

  • Site Improvement & personalization: To analyse user behaviour &preferences to continuously enhance the functionality, content & user experience of our site. This may include delivering relevant website content & advertisements tailored to your interests & measuring the effectiveness of our advertising campaigns.

  • Security & fraud prevention: To maintain the security & integrity of our site & services, protecting against unauthorised access, fraudulent activities & other unlawful acts. This may include monitoring & preventing such acts.

  • Internal administration & legal compliance: For internal administrative purposes, such as IT management, network security, data analysis & to comply with legal obligations, resolve disputes & enforce our legal agreements & policies. We may also use data for auditing purposes.

We will not use your personal information for purposes other than those explicitly stated herein without obtaining your prior consent.


Disclosure of your information

Hypha Curates is committed to protecting your personal information & will not sell, rent, or lease your personally identifiable information to third parties.

We may share non-personal, anonymised, or aggregated data, such as website traffic statistics or demographic information, which cannot be used to identify any individual user.

Personal information may only be disclosed in the following limited circumstances:

  • With your explicit consent: When you have provided clear & affirmative permission for us to share specific information for a defined purpose.

  • Third-party service providers: We may engage third-party companies & individuals to facilitate our services, provide services on our behalf (e.g., hosting, analytics, payment processing, email delivery), or assist us in analysing how our services are used. These third parties will have access to your personal information only to perform these tasks on our behalf and are obligated not to disclose or use it for any other purpose.

  • Legal compliance & protection: When required to do so by law or in response to valid requests by public authorities (e.g., a court order, subpoena, or government agency request). Disclosure may also occur when necessary to protect the rights, property, or safety of Hypha Curates, our Users, or the public, in accordance with applicable law.

  • Business transfers: In the event of a merger, acquisition, asset sale, or similar transaction, your personal information may be transferred as part of the transferred assets. We will notify you before your personal information becomes subject to a different privacy policy.


Data security & retention

We implement robust data collection, storage & processing practices, coupled with industry-standard security measures, to protect against unauthorised access, alteration, disclosure, or destruction of your personal information, username, password, transaction information & data stored on our site. We limit access to your personal data to those employees, agents, contractors & other third parties who have a legitimate business need to know. They will only process your personal data on our instructions and are subject to a duty of confidentiality.

We will 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. We consider the amount, nature & sensitivity of the personal data, the potential risk of harm from unauthorised use or disclosure of your personal data, the purposes for which we process your personal data & whether we can achieve those purposes through other means & the applicable legal requirements.


Your data protection rights

You have a number of rights regarding your personal data under applicable data protection laws. These rights include, but are not limited to:

  • Right of access: You have the right to request a copy of the personal information we hold about you.

  • Right to rectification: You have the right to request the correction of any inaccurate or incomplete personal information we hold about you.

  • Right to erasure (right to be forgotten): You have the right to request the deletion of your personal information, subject to certain legal exceptions (e.g., where we are required to retain data for legal obligations).

  • Right to restrict processing: You have the right to request that we limit the way we use your personal information.

  • Right to object to processing: You have the right to object to the processing of your personal information where we are relying on a legitimate interest (or those of a third party) & there is something about your particular situation which makes you want to object to processing on this ground.

  • Right to data portability: You have the right to request the transfer of your personal information to another party in a structured, commonly used, machine-readable format.

  • Right to withdraw consent: Where we are relying on consent to process your personal data, you have the right to withdraw that consent at any time.

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us using the details provided below. We may need to request specific information from you to help us confirm your identity & ensure your right to access your personal data (or to exercise any of your other rights). This is a security measure to ensure that personal data is not disclosed to any person who has no right to receive it. We will respond to all legitimate requests within one month.


Changes to this privacy policy

Hypha Curates reserves the right to update this Privacy Policy periodically to reflect changes in our practices or legal requirements. When modifications are made, we will revise the "Last updated" date at the top of this page. For significant changes, we will endeavour to provide more prominent notice, such as through an announcement on our site or via email. Your continued use of the site after any such modifications will constitute your acknowledgment of the updated privacy policy and your consent to abide by its terms. Your rights under this policy will not be diminished without your explicit consent.


Contacting us

Should you have any questions or concerns regarding this privacy policy, our data handling practices, or your personal data, please do not hesitate to contact us:

Email: sales@hyphacurates.com