Privacy Policy

ClinCE Continuing Education Platform

Effective Date: January 1, 2024

Last Updated: June 10, 206

ClinCE Incorporated ("ClinCE", "we", "our", or "us") is committed to protecting the privacy and security of our registered users, including Speech-Language Pathologists (SLPs), Audiologists, and other licensed healthcare professionals who use our continuing education platform. This Privacy Policy explains in detail how we collect, use, process, disclose, and safeguard your personal and professional information when you visit our website at www.clince.com, access our mobile application, or use any of our services. We encourage you to read this policy carefully and contact us with any questions before using our Platform.

By registering for or using the ClinCE Platform you acknowledge that you have read, understood, and agree to the practices described in this Privacy Policy. If you do not agree with any part of this policy please discontinue use of the Platform immediately.

1. Scope of This Policy

This Privacy Policy applies to all information collected through the ClinCE web platform at www.clince.com, the ClinCE mobile application, email and electronic communications between you and ClinCE, and any other services, features, or content offered by ClinCE Incorporated. This policy does not apply to third-party websites or services that may be linked from our Platform. We encourage you to review the privacy policies of any third-party services you access through links on our Platform.

2. Information We Collect

We collect several categories of information to provide, maintain, and improve our services. The categories of information we collect are described below.

2.1 Personal Identification Information

When you register for an account or update your profile we collect the following personal information:

1. Full legal name (first name and last name)
2. Email address (used as your primary login identifier)
3. Phone number
4. Residential or professional mailing address including street address, city, state, and ZIP code
5. Facility type and employer or organization name
6. Profile photograph if voluntarily provided

2.2 Professional and Credentialing Information

Because ClinCE is a continuing education platform for licensed healthcare professionals we collect professional information necessary to verify your credentials and deliver compliant CEU services:

1. Professional association membership details (currently ASHA for Beta release)
2. Association Member Number
3. Professional license number and state of licensure where applicable
4. Certification dates and certification maintenance period details entered in the CEU Tracker
5. Course enrollment history, quiz results, evaluation submissions, and completion records
6. CEU credits earned through the Platform and manually entered external CEU records
7. Certificates of completion generated through the Platform
8. Certificates uploaded manually by the user to the CEU Tracker

2.3 Account and Authentication Information

1. Username (alphanumeric, unique, immutable once set)
2. Encrypted password (we never store passwords in plain text)
3. Authentication tokens (JWT access tokens and refresh tokens)
4. Session data and login timestamps
5. Remember Me preference and associated token expiry settings
6. Email verification status
7. Account creation date and last login date

2.4 Device and Technical Information

When you access the Platform we automatically collect certain technical information:

1. IP address and approximate geographic location derived from IP
2. Browser type, version, and language settings
3. Device type, operating system, and screen resolution
4. Referring URL and exit pages
5. Pages visited, features used, and time spent on each page
6. Error logs and crash reports
7. HTTP request and response data for API interactions

2.5 Communications and Support Data

1. Support tickets submitted through the User Portal Support system including subject, description, and all threaded replies
2. Contact Us form submissions including your name, email, reason for contact, and inquiry text
3. Email correspondence between you and ClinCE support teams
4. Feedback and suggestions submitted through the Platform

2.6 User-Generated Content

1. Quiz responses and evaluation answers submitted for enrolled courses
2. Keyword preferences selected during registration and updated in your profile
3. External course records manually added to the CEU Tracker including course title, type, credit hours, professional association, date completed, provider name, and uploaded certificate files
4. Timezone and notification preferences
5. Marketing email opt-in or opt-out preferences

2.7 Payment and Transaction Information

If you purchase a membership plan or any paid content through ClinCE we collect transaction details through our payment processor. ClinCE does not store full credit card numbers or sensitive payment credentials directly. Payment data is handled by our PCI-compliant third-party payment processor. We retain records of transactions including purchase date, plan selected, and transaction reference numbers for billing and refund purposes.

3. How We Use Your Information

ClinCE uses the information we collect for the following purposes:

3.1 Account and Service Delivery

1. To create, authenticate, and manage your user account
2. To verify your professional association membership and credentials
3. To deliver continuing education courses including video content, quizzes, and evaluations
4. To automatically generate and issue certificates of completion upon course requirement fulfillment
5. To populate and maintain your CEU Tracker including auto-recording completed Clince course CEU records
6. To display your name, ASHA account number, and certification progress in the CEU Tracker banner

3.2 Communications

1. To send transactional emails including account verification emails, password reset links, forgot username emails, course completion confirmations, and certificate delivery notifications via AWS SES
2. To send support-related email notifications when your support ticket receives a reply
3. To send marketing and promotional communications if you have opted in to receive them — you may opt out at any time
4. To send platform updates, policy change notifications, and service announcements

3.3 Platform Improvement

1. To analyze usage patterns and identify areas for platform improvement
2. To diagnose technical issues, bugs, and performance problems
3. To personalize your course library experience — keywords selected at registration are used to surface relevant courses at the top of the Course Library
4. To conduct internal research and quality assurance testing
5. To develop new features and services based on user behavior and feedback

3.4 Legal and Compliance

1. To comply with applicable federal, state, and local laws and regulations
2. To enforce our Terms of Service and other platform policies
3. To detect, investigate, and prevent fraudulent activity, unauthorized access, and security incidents
4. To respond to legal processes including court orders, subpoenas, and government requests
5. To protect the rights, property, and safety of ClinCE, our users, and the public

4. Legal Basis for Processing (GDPR)

If you are located in the European Economic Area (EEA) or the United Kingdom, ClinCE processes your personal data under the following legal bases:

1. Contract Performance: Processing necessary to deliver the services you have registered for
2. Legitimate Interests: Processing for platform security, fraud prevention, and service improvement
3. Consent: Processing for marketing communications and optional features where you have given explicit consent
4. Legal Obligation: Processing required to comply with applicable laws and regulations

5. How We Share Your Information

ClinCE does not sell, rent, or trade your personal information to third parties for their marketing purposes. We may share your information in the following limited and controlled circumstances:

5.1 Service Providers and Vendors

We engage trusted third-party service providers to assist in operating the Platform. These providers are contractually obligated to use your information only as directed by ClinCE and to maintain appropriate security standards:

1. Cloud Infrastructure: Amazon Web Services (AWS) for hosting, storage, and computing
2. Email Delivery: AWS Simple Email Service (SES) for transactional and notification emails
3. Payment Processing: PCI-compliant payment processor for membership plan transactions
4. Analytics: Analytics providers for usage data and platform performance monitoring
5. Content Delivery: CDN providers for course video streaming and file delivery

5.2 Professional Associations

With your explicit consent we may share course completion data including course name, completion date, CEU hours, and your Association Member Number with ASHA or other relevant professional associations for CEU reporting and registry purposes. You may withdraw this consent at any time through your account settings.

5.3 Legal Requirements

We may disclose your information when required by law, court order, regulatory authority, or other governmental process. We will make reasonable efforts to notify you of such disclosure unless prohibited by law or court order.

5.4 Business Transfers

In the event of a merger, acquisition, reorganization, bankruptcy, or sale of all or a portion of ClinCE assets, your personal information may be transferred to the successor entity. We will notify registered users via email and platform notice prior to any such transfer and inform you of any changes to this Privacy Policy that may result.

5.5 Aggregated and De-identified Data

We may share aggregated or de-identified information that cannot reasonably be used to identify you with third parties for industry research, analytics, and marketing purposes. This data does not constitute personal information under applicable privacy laws.

6. Cookies and Tracking Technologies

ClinCE uses cookies and similar tracking technologies to operate and improve the Platform. The categories of cookies we use are as follows:

1. Strictly Necessary Cookies: Required for the Platform to function. These include session cookies, authentication tokens, and security cookies. These cannot be disabled.
2. Functional Cookies: Used to remember your preferences including language settings, timezone preferences, and Remember Me login sessions.
3. Analytics Cookies: Used to collect information about how users interact with the Platform including pages visited, features used, and error occurrences. This data is used to improve Platform performance.
4. Marketing Cookies: Used to deliver relevant marketing content and measure the effectiveness of marketing campaigns. These are only active if you have consented.

You may control non-essential cookie settings through your browser settings or our cookie consent banner. Disabling certain cookies may affect Platform functionality including session persistence and personalized course recommendations.

7. Data Security

ClinCE takes the security of your personal information seriously and implements a comprehensive set of technical and organizational measures to protect it:

7.1 Technical Safeguards

1. All data transmitted between your browser and our servers is encrypted using HTTPS and TLS 1.2 or higher
2. Passwords are hashed using industry-standard cryptographic algorithms and are never stored in plain text
3. Authentication uses short-lived JWT access tokens with refresh token rotation to minimize session hijacking risk
4. AWS infrastructure is configured with VPC isolation, security groups, and IAM role-based access controls
5. S3 storage buckets containing user-uploaded files including certificates are protected with server-side encryption and access-controlled presigned URLs
6. API endpoints are protected against common attack vectors including SQL injection, cross-site scripting (XSS), and cross-site request forgery (CSRF)

7.2 Organizational Safeguards

1. Access to personal data is restricted to ClinCE staff who require it to perform their job responsibilities
2. Staff with access to personal data are subject to confidentiality obligations
3. Regular security assessments and vulnerability testing are conducted on the Platform
4. Incident response procedures are in place to detect, contain, and respond to data security incidents

7.3 Limitations

Despite these measures no method of transmission over the internet or electronic storage is 100% secure. ClinCE cannot guarantee absolute security of your personal information. In the event of a data breach that affects your personal information we will notify you in accordance with applicable law.

8. Data Retention

ClinCE retains your personal information for as long as your account remains active or as necessary to provide our services. The following retention guidelines apply:

1. Account Data: Retained for the duration of your active account plus 2 years following account closure
2. CEU Records and Certificates: Retained for a minimum of 7 years to support professional compliance and audit requirements
3. Support Tickets and Communications: Retained for 3 years following ticket resolution
4. Transaction Records: Retained for 7 years for financial and tax compliance purposes
5. Technical Logs: Retained for up to 90 days for security monitoring and debugging purposes
6. Marketing Preferences: Retained until you withdraw consent or request deletion

You may request deletion of your account and associated personal data by contacting us at privacy@clince.com. Please note that certain records including CEU completion records may be retained beyond account deletion where required by law or professional compliance obligations.

9. Your Rights and Choices

Depending on your location and applicable law you may have the following rights regarding your personal information:

9.1 Access and Portability

You have the right to request a copy of the personal information we hold about you and to receive it in a portable, machine-readable format where technically feasible.

9.2 Correction

You have the right to request correction of inaccurate, incomplete, or outdated personal information. You may update most profile information directly through your Account Profile settings within the Platform.

9.3 Deletion

You have the right to request deletion of your personal information subject to legal and compliance retention requirements. Certain data such as CEU completion records may need to be retained even after account deletion to comply with professional licensing regulations.

9.4 Restriction of Processing

You have the right to request that we restrict processing of your personal information in certain circumstances such as while a dispute about the accuracy of your data is being resolved.

9.5 Objection

You have the right to object to processing of your personal information for direct marketing purposes. You may opt out of marketing emails at any time by clicking the unsubscribe link in any marketing email or by updating your communication preferences in your Account Profile.

9.6 Withdraw Consent

Where processing is based on your consent you have the right to withdraw that consent at any time without affecting the lawfulness of processing carried out before withdrawal.

To exercise any of these rights please submit a request to privacy@clince.com. We will respond within 30 days of receiving your request. We may require verification of your identity before processing your request.

10. Children's Privacy

The ClinCE Platform is intended exclusively for licensed healthcare professionals aged 18 and above. We do not knowingly collect, solicit, or process personal information from children under the age of 13. If we become aware that personal information has been collected from a child under 13 we will take immediate steps to delete that information from our systems. If you believe a child under 13 has provided personal information to ClinCE please contact us immediately at privacy@clince.com.

11. California Privacy Rights (CCPA)

If you are a California resident you have additional rights under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA):

1. Right to Know: The right to know what personal information we collect, use, disclose, and sell
2. Right to Delete: The right to request deletion of personal information we have collected about you
3. Right to Opt-Out: The right to opt out of the sale of personal information. ClinCE does not sell personal information.
4. Right to Non-Discrimination: The right not to receive discriminatory treatment for exercising your CCPA rights

To submit a CCPA request please contact us at privacy@clince.com or call us at the number listed in the Contact Us section below.

12. International Data Transfers

ClinCE is based in the United States. If you are accessing the Platform from outside the United States your personal information will be transferred to and processed in the United States. By using the Platform you consent to this transfer. We take appropriate safeguards to ensure your personal information receives an adequate level of protection including the use of standard contractual clauses where required.

13. Third-Party Links and Integrations

The Platform may contain links to third-party websites and services including the ASHA CE Registry at apps.asha.org, professional association portals, and speaker organization websites. These third-party services have their own privacy policies and ClinCE is not responsible for their privacy practices or content. We encourage you to review the privacy policy of any third-party service before providing your personal information to them.

14. Changes to This Privacy Policy

ClinCE reserves the right to update or modify this Privacy Policy at any time to reflect changes in our practices, technology, legal requirements, or other factors. When we make material changes to this policy we will notify registered users by sending an email to the address associated with your account and by posting a prominent notice on the Platform at least 14 days before the changes take effect. The updated policy will be identified by a revised Last Updated date at the top of this page. Your continued use of the Platform after the effective date of any changes constitutes your acceptance of the updated Privacy Policy.

15. Contact Us

If you have any questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or our data practices please contact our Privacy Team:

ClinCE Incorporated

Attn: Privacy Team

PMB 273, 4521 Campus Dr.

Irvine, CA 92612

Email: privacy@clince.com

General Support: support@clince.com

Website: www.clince.com

We are committed to resolving any privacy concerns promptly and transparently. All privacy-related inquiries will receive a response within 30 business days.