Privacy Policy & Terms of Service

Who are we, and what is this policy about?

You’re here because you care about your privacy, especially when it comes to your personal journey with mindfulness. As the creators of Ramona, privacy is of the utmost importance to us.

Shinzen Young Foundation (“Shinzen Young Foundation,” “we,” “us”) is a non-profit organization dedicated to making mindfulness practices accessible to a wider audience. Ramona is a mindfulness training app that provides guided practices, teachings, and resources to help you develop your practice. This Privacy Policy describes how we handle the personal information we collect in connection with our app and our related services.

Our Privacy Principles

We wrote this Privacy Policy to help you understand what personal information we collect, how we use and disclose it, and what choices you have about it.

Our commitment to your privacy is a core part of our mission. We aim to provide a safe and supportive space where you can engage in your mindfulness practice without worry that your personal information will be used in a way that contradicts our mission.

Knowing that you place a lot of trust in us, we want to transparently share our guiding principles for our privacy practices:

• You control how much of your information you share with us. To provide our services, we only collect the information necessary to run the app and support your practice.
• We will delete your data if you ask us to. We store the data you provide to our servers, but we will delete this information upon your request.
• We do not train our algorithms or share your content with other Ramona users. We only use the data you provide to deliver our services back to you.
• We do not advertise or market to you using the content you provide. As a non-profit, we monetize our services through user subscriptions and donations, not by selling your information.

Personal Information We Collect

We have carefully considered the data we collect and believe it is necessary to provide you with a high-quality, personalized mindfulness experience that is convenient and reliable.

Here we set out a comprehensive list of the information we will collect:

• Information you provide through the app:
  • Contact details: Including your first and last name and phone number and email address.
  • Account information: Such as your account credentials and other information used to administer your account, including the services you have purchased or may be interested in.
  • Content you upload: This may include personal notes or entries you make within the app to track your mindfulness journey.
  • Payment information: Needed to complete your purchase of an app subscription (including name, payment card information, billing information). Payment information is processed by a third-party payment processor, and we do not store your payment card numbers.
  • Usage information: Data about how you use the app and interact with us, including metadata associated with any content you upload or otherwise submit to us. This may include your progress through practice series or other usage patterns.
  • Communications: Any communications that we exchange with you, including when you contact us with questions, feedback, or otherwise.
  • Marketing information: Such as your preferences for receiving communications about our services and publications, and details about how you engage with our communications.
  • Other information: That we may collect which is not specifically listed here, but which we will use in accordance with this Privacy Policy or as otherwise disclosed at the time of collection.
• Automatic data collection: We and our service providers may automatically log information about you, your computer or mobile device, and your interaction over time with our services. This may include your device’s operating system, manufacturer and model, browser type, IP address, unique identifiers, language settings, mobile device carrier, and general location information such as city, state, or geographic area. We may collect this information using cookies and other similar technologies.

How We Use Personal Information

We use personal information for several purposes, with the primary aim of providing and improving a world-class product. More specifically, we use personal information:

• To provide our services: We use personal information to operate, maintain, and provide you with our services.
• To communicate about our services: We use personal information to respond to your requests, provide customer support, and communicate with you about our services, including by sending announcements, updates, security alerts, and support and administrative messages.
• To improve, monitor, personalize, and protect our services: We use this information to understand your needs and interests, personalize your experience, troubleshoot and keep the services secure, and protect against fraudulent, harmful, unauthorized, or illegal activity.
• For research and development: We may use personal information for research and development purposes to analyze and improve the services and our business. As part of these activities, we may create or use aggregated, de-identified, or anonymized data from the personal information we collect. We may use this anonymized data and share it with third parties for our lawful business purposes, including to analyze and improve our services and advance our non-profit mission.
• For direct marketing: We may send you direct marketing communications as permitted by law, including by email or phone. You may opt out of our marketing communications as described in the "Privacy Rights and Choices" section below.
• For compliance and protection: We may use personal information to comply with legal obligations and to defend us against legal claims or disputes, including to protect our, your, or others’ rights, privacy, safety, or property.

How We Disclose Personal Information

We do not sell personal information. We may disclose personal information to:

• Service providers: That provide services on our behalf or help us operate our services or our business (such as hosting, communications, data and cyber security, billing and payment processing, web and mobile analytics, and email and communication distribution and monitoring).
• Professional advisors: Such as lawyers, auditors, bankers, and insurers, where necessary in the course of the professional services that they render to us.
• Law enforcement, government authorities, and private parties: As we believe in good faith to be necessary or appropriate, for the compliance and protection purposes described above.
• Acquirers and other relevant participants in business transactions: (or negotiations for such transactions) involving a corporate divestiture, merger, consolidation, acquisition, reorganization, sale, or other disposition of all or any portion of the business or assets of, or equity interests in, the Shinzen Young Foundation or our affiliates (including, in connection with a bankruptcy or similar proceedings).

Privacy Rights and Choices

We seek to be upfront with regards to the choices that you have in consenting to the any of the above, and what is possible to opt out of:

• Opt out of direct marketing communications: You may opt out of marketing-related communications by following the opt-out or unsubscribe instructions contained in the marketing communication we send you. You may continue to receive service-related and other non-marketing communications.
• Privacy rights requests: We also offer you choices that affect how we handle the personal information that we control. Depending on your location and the nature of your interactions with our services, you may request the following in relation to personal information:
  • Information about how we have collected and used personal information.
  • Access to a copy of the personal information that we have collected about you.
  • Correction of personal information that is inaccurate or out of date.
  • Deletion of personal information that we no longer need to provide the services or for other lawful purposes.
  • Additional rights, such as to object to and request that we restrict our use of personal information.
  • Appeal our denial of your privacy request by contacting us as set out below.

To make a request, please email us or write to us as provided in the "How to Contact Us" section below. We may ask for specific information from you to help us confirm your identity.

International Data Transfers

You provide personal information directly to us in the United States. We may also transfer personal information to our affiliates and service providers in the United States and other jurisdictions.

How We Retain Personal Information

We retain personal information only for as long as is necessary to fulfill the purposes for which it was collected and processed, in accordance with our retention policies, and in accordance with applicable laws and regulatory obligations or until you withdraw your consent (where applicable).

Data Security

Ensuring the security of your data is our utmost priority. All data transmitted between you and our services is secured using strong encryption protocols both at rest and in transit. We will also comply with any requests to fully delete user data from our system.

Regional Privacy Disclosures

Residents of the European Economic Area and United Kingdom: Shinzen Young Foundation is considered the “data controller” of the “personal data” (as defined under the General Data Protection Regulation) we handle under this Policy. In other words, Shinzen Young Foundation is responsible for deciding how to collect, use, and disclose personal data, subject to applicable law.

Children

Our services are not intended for use by children under 16 years of age. If we learn that we have collected personal information through our services from a child under 16 without the consent of the child’s parent or guardian as required by law, we will delete it.

Changes to This Privacy Policy

We reserve the right to modify this Privacy Policy at any time. If we make material changes to this Privacy Policy, we will notify you.

How to Contact Us

Responsible entity: Shinzen Young Foundation is the entity responsible for the processing of personal information under this Privacy Policy (as a controller, where provided under applicable law).

Contact us: If you have any questions or comments about this Policy, our privacy practices, or if you would like to exercise your rights with respect to your personal information, please contact us by email at privacy@shinzenyoungfoundation.org or write to us at:

1830 Colonial Village Ln
LANCASTER, Pennsylvania 17601-6700
United States

Terms and Conditions

Introduction

Welcome to Ramona, a mindfulness training app designed to help you cultivate a more aware and peaceful life. The app is developed and operated by the Shinzen Young Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to making mindfulness accessible to all. By accessing or using the Ramona app, you agree to be bound by these Terms and Conditions.

Use of Our Services

• Eligibility: You must be at least 18 years old to use the Ramona app. If you are under the age of 18, you may only use the services with the involvement of a parent or guardian.
• Intellectual Property: All content within the Ramona app, including but not limited to practices, teachings, text, graphics, logos, and audio, is the property of the Shinzen Young Foundation or its licensors and is protected by intellectual property laws. You may not reproduce, distribute, or create derivative works from this content without our express written permission.
• User Content: Any personal notes or other content you create or upload in the app remain your property. By using the app, you grant us a limited, non-exclusive license to use this content solely for the purpose of providing and improving the services to you.

Disclaimer

• Not Medical Advice: The information provided in the Ramona app is for educational and informational purposes only. It is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.
• Assumption of Risk: Your use of the Ramona app is at your own risk. The Shinzen Young Foundation and its affiliates, licensors, and service providers will not be liable for any damages arising from your use of the app or reliance on its content.

Termination

We reserve the right to suspend or terminate your account and access to the Ramona app at our sole discretion, for any reason, including a breach of these Terms and Conditions.

Changes to Terms and Conditions

We may update these Terms and Conditions from time to time. We will notify you of any material changes by posting the new Terms and Conditions in the app or on our website.

Contact Us

If you have any questions about these Terms and Conditions, please contact us at privacy@shinzenyoungfoundation.org.