PRIVACY POLICY

 

The Love Club — operated by The Softening LLC

 

Last Updated: 8/10/26

Effective Date: 8/10/26

 

This Privacy Policy ("Policy") describes how The Softening LLC, a California limited liability company ("Company," "The Softening," "we," "us," or "our"), collects, uses, discloses, and protects personal information when you visit our website, purchase or participate in The Love Club, attend live sessions, or otherwise interact with our services (collectively, the "Services").

By using the Services, you agree to this Policy. This Policy is incorporated into our Terms and Conditions.

 

1. INFORMATION WE COLLECT

 

1.1 Information You Provide

 

Category Examples Identifiers Name, email address, billing address, account username, IP address Commercial information Membership purchased, billing history, payment status, cancellation records Financial information Payment card details (collected and stored by our processor, not by us), billing address Community content Forum posts, chat messages, comments, questions, replies, reactions Live session participation Audio, video, and chat if you attend a recorded session Survey and feedback data Responses to intake forms, feedback surveys, and interviews Correspondence Emails, support requests, direct messages Health-adjacent self-disclosures Information you voluntarily share about your emotional state, relationships, or physical health, including on breathwork medical-acknowledgment forms 

 

1.2 Information Collected Automatically

• IP address and approximate location derived from it
• Browser type, device type, and operating system
• Referring URLs and pages viewed
• Time spent, clicks, and interaction data
• Email open and click data
• Cookies, pixels, and similar technologies

1.3 Sensitive Personal Information

Some of what you voluntarily share in The Love Club may qualify as sensitive personal information under the California Consumer Privacy Act, including information relating to your health, sex life, or emotional condition.

 

We do not use sensitive personal information for any purpose other than providing the Services you requested, as permitted by Cal. Civ. Code § 1798.121(d). We do not use it to infer characteristics about you and we do not sell or share it.

 

We are not a HIPAA covered entity. The Love Club is a coaching membership, not a healthcare service. Information you share is not protected health information and is not subject to HIPAA, therapist-patient privilege, or any clinical confidentiality standard. Please share accordingly.

 

2. HOW WE USE YOUR INFORMATION

We use personal information to:

• Provide, operate, and improve the Services
• Process payments, manage installment billing, and collect amounts owed
• Verify eligibility and manage your account
• Communicate about your membership, sessions, and schedule changes
• Send newsletters, updates, and marketing communications (with opt-out)
• Facilitate community participation and moderate the community
• Conduct safety screening for Somatic Practices, including reviewing medical acknowledgments
• Produce de-identified marketing and educational materials as described in Section 4
• Analyze usage, conduct research, and evaluate program effectiveness
• Respond to support inquiries
• Comply with legal, tax, accounting, and regulatory obligations
• Enforce our Terms and Conditions and defend legal claims

3. RECORDING OF LIVE SESSIONS

Live calls, workshops, and Somatic Practice sessions may be recorded in audio and/or video for member replay and internal quality purposes.

 

California is a two-party consent state. You will be notified at the start of any recorded session, and by remaining in the session you consent to being recorded. If you prefer not to be recorded, you may turn off your camera, mute, use a non-identifying display name, or leave.

Recordings are made available to current members through the community platform. Recordings are not published publicly or used in marketing in identifiable form without your separate written consent. Recordings are retained for the period described in Section 8.

 

4. COMMUNITY CONTENT AND DE-IDENTIFIED MARKETING USE

This is an important disclosure. Please read it.

We use de-identified excerpts and screenshots of community discussions in marketing and educational materials, including on our website, social media, email, sales pages, and presentations.

 

Before any such use, we remove or obscure: names, usernames, handles, display names, profile photos and avatars, email addresses, phone numbers, links, employers, schools, cities and other geographic identifiers, names of partners and family members, and any other detail we reasonably believe could identify you or a third party. We may also edit or paraphrase for length, clarity, or further de-identification.

 

We do not attribute content to you by name, image, handle, or voice without your separate written consent.

 

Your choices:

• Opt out at any time by emailing [email protected]. We will stop using your content in new materials and make commercially reasonable efforts to remove it from materials we actively control. We may be unable to recall materials already published, printed, cached, or shared by others.
• Tag individual posts by beginning them with [private]. We will not use those posts in any external material.

A limitation you should understand: de-identification reduces, but does not eliminate, the possibility that someone who knows you could recognize content as yours based on writing style or distinctive circumstances. If that risk is unacceptable to you for a particular disclosure, use the [private] tag or share it verbally in a live session rather than in writing.

 

We may also compile aggregated, anonymized thematic insights (for example, common topics or trends across the membership). Aggregate insights contain no individual content and are not subject to the opt-out above.

 

5. SOMATIC PRACTICE AND HEALTH SCREENING INFORMATION

If you complete a medical acknowledgment or contraindication screening form for breathwork or other Somatic Practices, we use that information solely to:

• Determine whether participation is appropriate
• Provide relevant safety guidance to you and, where necessary for your safety, to the facilitator leading the session
• Maintain a record that screening occurred

We share this information with a facilitator or guest practitioner only to the extent necessary for your safety during a session. We do not use it for marketing, and we do not disclose it to other members.

 

6. HOW WE SHARE INFORMATION

We do not sell your personal information. We do not share personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising as those terms are defined under the CCPA.

We disclose information to:

 

Recipient type Purpose Current providers Payment processing Billing, subscription management, refunds Stripe Community platform Hosting the membership community Circle Email marketing Newsletters, receipts, member communications Flodesk Website hosting Site and checkout pages Squarespace Video conferencing Live calls and workshops [Zoom / Google Meet — confirm] Accounting and banking Bookkeeping, tax compliance Kick, Relay Guest practitioners Session safety information only, per Section 5 Varies by session Collections and legal Recovery of unpaid balances, legal defense As needed Legal authorities Compliance with law, subpoena, or protection of rights and safety As required Business transfer Merger, acquisition, or sale of assets As applicable 

 

Service providers are contractually limited to using information only to perform services for us.

 

Other members. Anything you post in the community is visible to other members. We require members to keep it confidential, but we cannot control or guarantee their conduct. Treat the community as a group setting, not a private one.

 

7. COOKIES AND TRACKING TECHNOLOGIES

We use cookies and similar technologies to operate the site, remember preferences, understand usage, measure email engagement, and support marketing.

You can control cookies through your browser settings. Disabling cookies may affect site functionality.

 

Do Not Track. Some browsers transmit "Do Not Track" signals. There is no consistent industry standard for responding to them, and our website does not currently respond to Do Not Track signals.

 

Global Privacy Control. Where technically supported, we honor Global Privacy Control (GPC) opt-out preference signals as a valid request to opt out of sale or sharing. As noted in Section 6, we do not currently sell or share personal information.

 

8. DATA RETENTION

We retain personal information only as long as reasonably necessary for the purpose it was collected. Our general retention periods:

 

Data type Retention period Account and contact information Duration of membership plus 3 years Billing and transaction records 7 years (tax and accounting requirements) Community posts and content Duration of membership plus 12 months, unless de-identified Session recordings 24 months, then deleted Somatic Practice screening forms 4 years (statute of limitations for personal injury claims in California is 2 years; retained longer for defense) Marketing email list data Until you unsubscribe, plus 12 months Support correspondence 3 years De-identified content used in marketing Retained indefinitely in de-identified form 

 

We may retain information longer where necessary to comply with law, resolve disputes, or enforce agreements.

 

9. DATA SECURITY

We implement reasonable administrative, technical, and physical safeguards, including access controls, encrypted transmission, and use of reputable third-party providers.

 

No system is completely secure. We cannot guarantee absolute security, and you provide information at your own risk. If we become aware of a breach affecting your personal information, we will notify you as required by California law.

 

10. YOUR CALIFORNIA PRIVACY RIGHTS (CCPA / CPRA)

If you are a California resident, you have the right to:

• Know what personal information we collect, the sources, the purposes, and the categories of third parties we disclose to
• Access a copy of the personal information we hold about you
• Delete your personal information, subject to legal exceptions
• Correct inaccurate personal information
• Limit the use of sensitive personal information (note: we already limit use to providing the Services)
• Opt out of sale or sharing (note: we do not sell or share)
• Non-discrimination for exercising these rights

To exercise these rights, email [email protected] with the subject line "Privacy Request." We will verify your identity by matching the information in your request against our records, and will respond within 45 days, with one 45-day extension where necessary.

Authorized agents may submit requests on your behalf with written authorization and proof of identity.

 

Deletion limits. We may decline deletion where retention is required for tax and accounting compliance, to complete a transaction, to detect security incidents, to exercise legal claims, or where information has already been irreversibly de-identified.

 

11. EMAIL AND MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS

If you opt into marketing emails, you may unsubscribe at any time using the link in any email or by emailing [email protected]. Transactional and account-related emails (billing notices, session schedules, terms changes) will continue while you are a member, as they are necessary to provide the Services.

 

If we introduce SMS communications, you will opt in separately and may opt out by replying STOP.

 

12. THIRD-PARTY LINKS AND PLATFORMS

Our Services may link to or operate through third-party platforms (Circle, Stripe, Squarespace, Instagram, Substack, video conferencing). We are not responsible for their privacy practices. Review their policies independently.

 

13. INTERNATIONAL USERS

Our Services are operated from the United States. If you access them from outside the U.S., your information will be transferred to, processed in, and stored in the United States, which may have different data protection laws than your jurisdiction. By using the Services you consent to that transfer.

 

If you are located in the United Kingdom, European Economic Area, or Switzerland: our legal bases for processing are contract performance (providing the membership), legitimate interests (operating and improving the Services, security, marketing to existing members), consent (where you provide it, including for de-identified marketing use and recordings), and legal obligation. You have rights of access, rectification, erasure, restriction, portability, objection, and the right to lodge a complaint with your supervisory authority. To exercise these rights, email [email protected].

 

14. CHILDREN'S PRIVACY

The Services are intended solely for individuals 18 and older. We do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 18. If we learn we have, we will delete it promptly. Contact [email protected] if you believe a minor has provided information to us.

 

15. CHANGES TO THIS POLICY

We may update this Policy from time to time. Updates will be posted here with a revised "Last Updated" date. Material changes will be communicated by email at least thirty (30) days in advance. Continued use after the effective date constitutes acceptance.

 

16. CONTACT US

The Softening LLC 1110 Camino Del Mar, Suite E-2 Del Mar, CA 92014 

Email: [email protected]