Privacy Policy

1. Information We Collect

We collect only the information reasonably needed to operate ChemUnlocked, respond to users, and provide premium services.

a. Information You Provide

• Email address when you sign up for premium services, manage a subscription, or contact us.
• Name if you provide it through the contact form or another form on the site.
• Messages and support requests you send to us, including the contents of contact form submissions.

b. Premium Subscription Information

When you purchase or manage premium services, we may receive or store:

• Your email address.
• Your Stripe customer ID and subscription ID.
• Your subscription status, such as active, canceled, or past due.
• Access token information used to unlock premium practice content.
• Plan and unit metadata needed to route you back to the correct ChemUnlocked page after checkout.

c. Automatically Collected Information

Like most websites, our hosting provider and service providers may collect technical information such as IP address, browser type, device information, pages visited, timestamps, and error logs. We also use browser storage, described below, to keep premium access working on your device.

2. How We Use Your Information

We use information to:

• Provide and maintain ChemUnlocked and premium practice services.
• Create Stripe checkout and billing portal sessions.
• Confirm subscription status and unlock premium content.
• Respond to questions, support requests, and other messages.
• Send service-related messages, such as receipts, account, billing, security, or policy notices.
• Prevent abuse, troubleshoot errors, protect the site, and comply with legal obligations.
• Improve lessons, practice tools, and site performance.

We do not use premium signup emails for marketing emails unless you separately opt in.

3. Third-Party Services

We use trusted third-party services to run the site and premium subscription features:

• Stripe for checkout, subscription billing, payment processing, taxes, receipts, fraud prevention, and the customer billing portal.
• Supabase for storing subscriber records, subscription status, and premium access token information.
• Netlify for website hosting and serverless functions used by the checkout, webhook, and premium access flow.
• Formspree for contact form submissions.
• Email providers to receive, send, and respond to messages.

These providers process information according to their own privacy policies and service terms. For example, Stripe may receive payment, billing, device, and transaction information when you use Stripe checkout.

4. Cookies, Browser Storage, and Similar Technologies

ChemUnlocked may use cookies, localStorage, or similar browser technologies to:

• Remember the subscription email entered on your device.
• Store a premium access token after successful checkout.
• Help premium practice pages confirm access without asking you to sign in repeatedly.
• Support security, checkout, billing, and fraud-prevention features provided by Stripe and other service providers.

Access tokens and subscription email addresses stored in localStorage remain on your device and are not transmitted to ChemUnlocked servers beyond what is needed to verify your subscription status.

You can clear cookies and localStorage through your browser settings. Clearing browser storage may remove saved premium access on that device and require you to re-enter your subscription email or restore access.

5. How We Share Information

We do not sell or rent your personal information. We may share information only:

• With service providers listed in this policy so they can provide hosting, payment, database, form, email, security, and support services.
• When needed to process payments, manage subscriptions, prevent fraud, or provide premium access.
• If required by law, legal process, or a good-faith need to protect ChemUnlocked, users, or others.
• With your direction or consent.

6. How We Protect Your Information

We take reasonable steps to protect personal information, including using established providers for payments, database hosting, serverless functions, and contact forms; limiting access to personal data; and avoiding storage of full credit card numbers on ChemUnlocked servers.

No method of transmission or storage over the internet is completely secure, so we cannot guarantee absolute security.

7. Data Retention

We keep personal information only as long as reasonably necessary for the purposes described in this policy, including providing premium access, maintaining subscription records, responding to support requests, complying with legal or tax obligations, resolving disputes, and protecting the site from abuse.

Subscription and payment-related records may need to be retained for longer periods where required by law, accounting rules, payment processing requirements, chargeback handling, or fraud prevention.

8. Your Choices and Rights

You may ask us to:

• Access the personal information we maintain about you.
• Correct inaccurate information.
• Delete information where we are not required to keep it.
• Stop optional communications.

To make a request, use the ChemUnlocked contact form or email us at info [at] chemunlocked [dot] com. We may need to verify your identity before completing a request.

9. Children's Privacy

ChemUnlocked provides educational chemistry content intended for high school and college-level students. While students of many ages may use the free content on this site, premium subscriptions require purchase by an adult (age 18 or older) or with a parent or guardian's permission and involvement.

We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If a parent or guardian believes their child under 13 has provided personal information to ChemUnlocked, please contact us so we can review and remove it where appropriate.

If you are a teacher purchasing or managing premium access on behalf of students, you are responsible for ensuring that any student use of the site complies with applicable school policies and parental consent requirements.

10. Links to Other Websites

ChemUnlocked may link to third-party websites or services. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of websites or services we do not own or control.

11. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Updates will be posted on this page with a new "Last updated" date. If we make material changes, we may provide additional notice where appropriate.

12. Governing Law

This Privacy Policy is governed by the laws of the State of Illinois, without regard to its conflict of law principles. Any disputes arising under this policy will be subject to the jurisdiction of the courts of Lake County, Illinois.