Privacy Policy

1. Introduction

Affinity Vials LLC ("Affinity Vials," "we," "us," or "our") respects your privacy and is committed to protecting your personal information. This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect, how we use it, with whom we share it, how long we retain it, and your rights regarding your information. By using our website or purchasing products, you consent to the practices described in this Policy.

2. Information We Collect

2.1 Information You Provide

• Account registration information: name, email address, password (stored hashed and salted), entity classification (business or independent researcher), business type or industry;
• Shipping and billing address, including street address, city, state, ZIP code, and country;
• Payment information, processed by our payment provider. We do not store full payment card numbers on our servers;
• Order history and order-related communications;
• Communications with our support team.

2.2 Information Collected Automatically

• Device and browser information: device type, operating system, browser type and version, screen size;
• IP address and approximate geographic location;
• Pages viewed, time spent on pages, referring URL, exit pages;
• Order interactions and conversion data;
• Cookie and similar tracking technology identifiers, described further in our Cookie Policy.

2.3 Information from Third Parties

• Payment confirmation data from our payment processor;
• Shipping status and tracking data from our shipping carriers;
• Fraud prevention data from third party services we use to verify orders and detect unauthorized activity.

3. How We Use Information

We use the information we collect to:

• Process and fulfill your orders;
• Communicate with you about orders, shipping, account changes, and customer support;
• Authenticate your account and protect against unauthorized access;
• Verify researcher credentials and eligibility;
• Detect, prevent, and respond to fraud, abuse, and illegal activity;
• Improve our website, products, and services;
• Comply with legal obligations, including tax reporting, recordkeeping, and lawful requests from authorities;
• Send marketing communications, where permitted by law and with your consent where required;
• Personalize your experience on the website.

We do not sell your personal information for monetary consideration.

4. Cookies and Tracking Technologies

We use cookies and similar technologies on the website. Detailed information about the categories of cookies we use, the specific cookies we set, and how to manage them is provided in our Cookie Policy.

5. Third Party Sharing

We share personal information only as necessary and only with parties that have agreed to appropriate confidentiality and security obligations.

5.1 Service Providers

• Payment processors;
• Shipping carriers, such as USPS and FedEx;
• Cloud hosting and infrastructure providers;
• Authentication and account management providers;
• Analytics providers;
• Customer support platforms;
• Email delivery providers.

5.2 Legal Requirements

We may disclose information when required by law, subpoena, court order, or other legal process; to enforce our Terms of Service or other agreements; to protect the rights, property, or safety of Affinity Vials, our users, or others; or in connection with a government or regulatory investigation.

5.3 Business Transfers

If we are involved in a merger, acquisition, financing, reorganization, bankruptcy, or sale of assets, your information may be transferred as part of that transaction. We will provide notice of any such transfer.

5.4 With Your Consent

We may share information with other parties when you specifically direct us to do so.

6. Data Security

We implement administrative, technical, and physical safeguards designed to protect personal information against loss, theft, unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, and destruction. Measures include encrypted data transmission over TLS, secure password storage using hashing with appropriate salting, role-based access controls, audit logging, and ongoing security monitoring. No method of transmission or storage is one hundred percent secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

7. Data Retention

We retain personal information for as long as necessary to provide our services, comply with legal obligations (such as tax, accounting, and recordkeeping requirements), resolve disputes, and enforce agreements. Account information is generally retained for the duration of the account plus a reasonable period thereafter to permit reactivation and respond to disputes. Order records are retained for a minimum of seven (7) years for tax and recordkeeping compliance. When personal information is no longer required, we delete it or render it anonymous.

8. Your Rights

Subject to applicable law, you have the following rights regarding your personal information:

• Access -- request a copy of the personal information we hold about you;
• Correction -- request that inaccurate or incomplete information be corrected;
• Deletion -- request deletion of your personal information, subject to legal exceptions;
• Restriction -- request that we limit the processing of your information;
• Portability -- request a copy of your information in a structured, machine-readable format;
• Objection -- object to processing for direct marketing or based on legitimate interests;
• Withdrawal of consent -- where processing is based on consent, withdraw that consent at any time without affecting the lawfulness of prior processing.

To exercise these rights, contact us at privacy@affinityvials.com. We will respond within the timeframes required by applicable law, typically thirty (30) to forty-five (45) days.

9. California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA)

If you are a California resident, you have additional rights under the California Consumer Privacy Act, as amended by the California Privacy Rights Act (collectively, the "CCPA"):

• Right to know the categories and specific pieces of personal information we collect, the sources, the purposes for collection, and the categories of third parties with whom we share information;
• Right to delete personal information we have collected from you, subject to legal exceptions;
• Right to correct inaccurate personal information;
• Right to opt out of the sale or sharing of personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising. As noted, we do not sell personal information for monetary consideration;
• Right to limit the use of sensitive personal information;
• Right to non-discrimination for exercising your CCPA rights.

To submit a verifiable consumer request, contact us at privacy@affinityvials.com. You may designate an authorized agent to make a request on your behalf, subject to verification.

10. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)

If you are located in the European Economic Area, United Kingdom, or Switzerland, the following additional information applies.

10.1 Legal Basis for Processing

We process personal information based on one or more of the following legal bases: (a) performance of a contract with you; (b) compliance with a legal obligation; (c) our legitimate interests, balanced against your rights and freedoms (such as operating and improving our services, preventing fraud, and conducting research and analytics); or (d) your consent.

10.2 International Transfers

Our servers are located in the United States. When we transfer personal information from the EEA, UK, or Switzerland to the United States or other countries that have not received an adequacy decision, we implement appropriate safeguards, including Standard Contractual Clauses where applicable.

10.3 Supervisory Authority

You have the right to lodge a complaint with a data protection supervisory authority in your jurisdiction.

11. Children's Privacy

The website is not directed to individuals under twenty-one (21) years of age, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under thirteen (13). If you believe a child under 13 has provided personal information to us, please contact us and we will take prompt steps to delete it.

12. Do Not Track

Some browsers offer a "Do Not Track" signal. Because no industry standard has been established for honoring such signals, we do not currently respond to them. We will update this Policy if that changes.

13. Third Party Links

The website may contain links to third party sites. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of those sites. Please review their privacy policies before providing them with personal information.

14. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Material changes will be communicated through reasonable means, such as a notice on the website or email to the address associated with your account. The "Last Updated" date at the top of this Policy indicates when it was last revised.

15. Contact

Questions about this Privacy Policy or your personal information may be directed to: