Our Privacy Policy

MedBuddy® (“MedBuddy,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) is committed to protecting the privacy of every person who visits, uses, or interacts with our website and services. This Privacy Policy explains what personal information we collect, how we use and protect it, when we may share it, and what rights and choices you have with respect to your information.

This Privacy Policy applies to information collected through MedBuddy.org and any related subdomains, mobile applications, email communications, forms, and other online services operated by MedBuddy® (collectively, the “Site”). By accessing or using the Site, you agree to the collection and use of information in accordance with this Privacy Policy.

We will not sell your private information. Period.

Contents

  1. Information We Collect
  2. How We Collect Information
  3. How We Use Your Information
  4. Children’s Privacy (COPPA)
  5. Cookies and Tracking Technologies
  6. How We Share Your Information
  7. Data Retention
  8. Data Security
  9. Your Privacy Rights
  10. California Privacy Rights (CCPA/CPRA)
  11. Third-Party Links
  12. Changes to This Privacy Policy
  13. How to Contact Us

1 – Information We Collect

We collect several categories of personal information depending on how you interact with our Site and services.

1.1 Information You Provide Directly

  • Contact and account information: Your name, email address, mailing address, and phone number when you create an account, sign up for our mailing list, or contact us directly.
  • Purchase information: Billing name, shipping address, payment method details (processed through our third-party payment processor), and order history when you make a purchase through the Site.
  • Story and media submissions: Written testimonials, photographs, and video recordings you submit through our Share Your Story program or any similar submission feature.
  • Communications: The content of any messages, inquiries, complaints, or other communications you send us by email, contact form, or other means.
  • Survey and feedback responses: Information you provide in response to surveys, questionnaires, or feedback requests.
  • Professional information: If you are a healthcare provider or NGO representative, your professional title, organization, and practice information that you voluntarily provide.

1.2 Information Collected Automatically

  • Device and browser information: IP address, browser type and version, operating system, device identifiers, and screen resolution.
  • Usage information: Pages visited, time spent on pages, links clicked, referring URLs, search terms used to find our Site, and navigation paths.
  • Location information: General geographic location inferred from your IP address. We do not collect precise GPS location without your explicit consent.
  • Cookies and similar technologies: See Section 5 for a full description of our use of cookies and tracking technologies.

1.3 Information from Third Parties

  • Social media platforms: If you interact with our social media accounts or share our content, we may receive information available through those platforms in accordance with their privacy policies and your privacy settings.
  • Analytics providers: We use third-party analytics services that collect aggregated and anonymized information about how users interact with the Site.
  • Payment processors: Our payment processor provides us with transaction confirmation and limited billing information but does not share your full payment card details with us.

2 – How We Collect Information

We collect personal information through the following means:

  • Directly from you when you complete forms, make purchases, submit content, communicate with us, or otherwise interact with the Site.
  • Automatically through cookies, web beacons, pixel tags, and similar technologies when you access and navigate the Site.
  • From third-party partners including analytics providers, advertising platforms, social media platforms, and payment processors.
  • From publicly available sources in connection with partnership or business development inquiries.

3 – How We Use Your Information

3.1 To Provide and Improve Our Services

  • Processing and fulfilling product orders, subscriptions, and related transactions.
  • Creating and managing your account and providing customer support.
  • Responding to your inquiries, comments, and requests.
  • Improving, personalizing, and developing the Site and our products and services.
  • Conducting research, analytics, and quality assurance activities.

3.2 Marketing and Communications

  • Sending you promotional emails, newsletters, and other marketing communications, where you have opted in or where we have a legitimate interest and applicable law permits.
  • Personalizing content and recommendations based on your interests and interactions.
  • Administering contests, promotions, surveys, and other features.

3.3 Story and Media Submissions

  • Publishing, sharing, and using submitted stories, photographs, and videos in accordance with the User Content Submission Agreement & Rights Release you agreed to at the time of submission.
  • Contacting you regarding your submission and its use.

3.4 Legal and Safety Purposes

  • Complying with applicable laws, regulations, legal processes, and governmental requests.
  • Enforcing our Terms of Use and other agreements.
  • Detecting, preventing, and responding to fraud, security incidents, and other harmful or illegal activity.
  • Protecting the rights, property, and safety of MedBuddy®, our users, and the public.

4 – Children’s Privacy (COPPA)

MedBuddy.org is designed and intended for use by adults, including parents, guardians, and healthcare professionals. We do not knowingly collect personal information directly from children under the age of 13 without verifiable parental consent in compliance with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (“COPPA”).
While MedBuddy® products are designed for use with children ages 2 to 16, our website is directed to adults who purchase and use our products on behalf of or in care of children. We do not operate any online features, accounts, or services specifically designed for or directed at children under 13.
If we become aware that we have collected personal information from a child under the age of 13 without appropriate parental consent, we will promptly delete such information. If you believe we may have inadvertently collected information from a child under 13, please contact us immediately at Webmaster@MedBuddy.org.
With respect to photographs and videos submitted through our Share Your Story program that depict minors, we collect and use such content solely pursuant to the signed consent of the submitting parent or legal guardian, as described in our User Content Submission Agreement & Rights Release.

5 – Cookies and Tracking Technologies

We use cookies, web beacons, pixel tags, and similar tracking technologies to operate and improve the Site, understand how users interact with it, and deliver relevant content.

5.1 Types of Cookies We Use

  • Strictly necessary cookies: Required for the Site to function. They enable core features like shopping cart functionality, account access, and security. These cannot be disabled.
  • Performance and analytics cookies: Help us understand how visitors interact with the Site by collecting aggregated, anonymized data about pages visited, time spent, and errors encountered. We use tools such as Google Analytics for this purpose.
  • Functionality cookies: Remember your preferences and settings to provide a more personalized experience.
  • Marketing and advertising cookies: Used to deliver relevant advertisements and track the effectiveness of marketing campaigns. These may be set by third-party advertising partners.

5.2 Managing Cookies

You can manage cookie preferences through your browser settings. Most browsers allow you to block or delete cookies. Note that disabling certain cookies may affect the functionality of the Site. You may also opt out of interest-based advertising through the Network Advertising Initiative (NAI) at optout.networkadvertising.org or the Digital Advertising Alliance (DAA) at optout.aboutads.info.

6 – How We Share Your Information

We do not sell your personal information to third parties. We may share your information in the following limited circumstances:

6.1 Service Providers

We share information with trusted third-party vendors and service providers who assist us in operating the Site and delivering our services, including payment processors, email service providers, analytics providers, cloud hosting services, shipping and fulfillment partners, and customer support platforms. These service providers are contractually obligated to use your information only to provide services to us and in accordance with this Privacy Policy.

6.2 Business Transfers

If MedBuddy® is involved in a merger, acquisition, sale of assets, financing, reorganization, or other corporate transaction, your information may be transferred as part of that transaction. We will provide notice before your information is transferred and becomes subject to a different privacy policy.

6.3 Legal Requirements

We may disclose your information if required to do so by law or in good faith belief that such disclosure is necessary to: comply with a legal obligation or court order; protect and defend the rights or property of MedBuddy®; prevent or investigate possible wrongdoing in connection with the Site; protect the personal safety of users or the public; or protect against legal liability.

6.4 With Your Consent

We may share your information with third parties when you have given us explicit consent to do so, such as when your submitted story or media is featured on partner platforms or in co-branded materials.

6.5 Aggregated and Anonymized Data

We may share aggregated, anonymized information that does not identify any individual user with partners, researchers, or the public for purposes of education, research, and promoting our mission.

7 – Data Retention

We retain personal information for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes described in this Privacy Policy, unless a longer retention period is required or permitted by law. Specifically:

  • Account information is retained for the duration of your account and for a reasonable period thereafter for legal, safety, and business purposes.
  • Purchase records are retained as required by applicable tax and accounting regulations, typically for a minimum of seven years.
  • Marketing communication preferences and opt-out records are retained indefinitely to ensure we honor your preferences.
  • Story and media submissions are retained in accordance with the rights granted in our User Content Submission Agreement, unless you request deletion prior to publication.
  • Website analytics data is retained in aggregated, anonymized form and may be kept indefinitely for trend analysis and product development purposes.

8 – Data Security

We implement commercially reasonable administrative, technical, and physical security measures designed to protect your personal information from unauthorized access, use, alteration, and disclosure. These measures include encrypted data transmission (SSL/TLS), secure access controls, regular security assessments, and vendor security requirements.

However, no method of transmission over the Internet or electronic storage is completely secure. While we strive to use commercially acceptable means to protect your personal information, we cannot guarantee absolute security. In the event of a data breach that affects your rights and freedoms, we will notify you and applicable regulatory authorities as required by applicable law.

9 – Your Privacy Rights

Depending on your location and applicable law, you may have the following rights with respect to your personal information:

  • Right to access: Request a copy of the personal information we hold about you.
  • Right to correction: Request that we correct inaccurate or incomplete personal information.
  • Right to deletion: Request that we delete your personal information, subject to certain exceptions.
  • Right to restriction: Request that we restrict the processing of your personal information in certain circumstances.
  • Right to data portability: Request a copy of your personal information in a structured, machine-readable format.
  • Right to object: Object to our processing of your personal information for direct marketing or other purposes based on legitimate interests.
  • Right to withdraw consent: Where processing is based on your consent, withdraw that consent at any time without affecting the lawfulness of processing based on consent before its withdrawal.

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at ClientSupport@MedBuddy.org with the subject line “Privacy Request.” We will respond to your request within the timeframe required by applicable law. We may need to verify your identity before processing certain requests.

10 – California Privacy Rights (CCPA/CPRA)

If you are a California resident, the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) as amended by the California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA) affords you specific rights regarding your personal information. In addition to the rights described in Section 9, California residents have the right to:

  • Know what categories of personal information we collect, use, disclose, and sell.
  • Opt out of the sale or sharing of personal information. MedBuddy® does not sell personal information. However, our use of certain advertising and analytics cookies may constitute “sharing” under California law. You may opt out by using our cookie management tool or the “Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information” link on our Site.
  • Limit the use of sensitive personal information.
  • Non-discrimination for exercising your privacy rights.

California residents may submit privacy requests by emailing Webmaster@MedBuddy.org with the subject line “CA Privacy Request”. We will respond within 45 days, with one 45-day extension if necessary.

11 – Third-Party Links

The Site may contain links to third-party websites, social media platforms, or other external services that are not operated by MedBuddy®. We have no control over and assume no responsibility for the content, privacy policies, or practices of any third-party sites or services. We encourage you to review the privacy policy of every site you visit.

12 – Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, applicable law, or for other operational, legal, or regulatory reasons. When we make material changes, we will notify you by updating the effective date at the top of this policy and, where appropriate, by sending an email notification or posting a prominent notice on the Site. Your continued use of the Site after any changes constitutes acceptance of the updated Privacy Policy.

13 – How to Contact Us

If you have questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or our privacy practices, please contact us via the Connect with Us page.