Privacy Policy and AI-Use Disclosure

The Passion, Purpose & Profit Pathfinder is provided by Shana Douglas Publishing, LLC, doing business as Starting Over After 50 (“we,” “us,” or “our”). This policy explains what information the Pathfinder collects, how we use it, when service providers process it, and the choices available to you.

This policy applies to the Pathfinder assessment and its results experience. It does not apply to websites or services operated by other organizations.

The short version

• •Your assessment answers and progress are saved in your browser so you can continue where you left off.
• •Your answers may be securely sent to our server and an artificial-intelligence service to help generate or improve your results.
• •We store your first name, email address, and email preference separately from your assessment answers.
• •Checking the email box is optional. We will send marketing emails only if you check it.
• •We do not sell your personal information or use it for targeted advertising.

Information we collect

Information you enter in the assessment

The Pathfinder asks about your knowledge, experience, talents, interests, preferred audiences, problems you may want to help solve, desired results, work preferences, and related goals. Some questions allow you to write your own responses.

Please do not include Social Security numbers, financial-account information, medical records, passwords, or other highly sensitive information in your answers. The Pathfinder does not need that information to provide a result.

Contact and email-preference information

Before viewing your results, you may be asked for:

• •Your first name.
• •Your email address.
• •Whether you want to receive emails containing tips and offers.

Your email preference is optional and starts unchecked. You may view your results without agreeing to receive marketing emails. Providing an email address does not, by itself, subscribe you to marketing.

We record the wording shown with your email preference, the preference you selected, and the date and time it was recorded. This helps us respect your choice and maintain an accurate consent record.

Information stored on your device

The Pathfinder uses browser storage to save your assessment progress and answers on your device. It also stores limited session information needed to prevent duplicate lead submissions and remember whether the lead-capture step was completed or bypassed for that assessment session.

Your first name and email address are not intentionally placed in persistent browser storage. You can remove locally stored Pathfinder information by using Start Over, clearing your browser’s site data, or changing your browser settings. Clearing it may erase unfinished answers and prevent the Pathfinder from resuming where you left off.

Technical and security information

Our hosting and security services may process basic technical information needed to deliver the application, prevent abuse, diagnose failures, and protect the service. This may include request times, error information, browser or device information, and network information such as an IP address.

We do not add IP-address fields or device fingerprints to the Pathfinder lead table. We do not use Pathfinder information for cross-site tracking or targeted advertising.

How we use information

We use information to:

• •Save your assessment progress on your device.
• •Generate, validate, display, and print your Pathfinder results.
• •Store your contact information and email preference.
• •Send tips and offers if you affirmatively request them.
• •Prevent duplicate submissions, maintain security, and troubleshoot failures.
• •Respond to privacy requests and questions.
• •Maintain records needed to honor consent, unsubscribe, or deletion requests.
• •Comply with applicable law and protect our rights and users.

We do not use your name, email address, or marketing preference to score the assessment or choose your Pathfinder direction.

How artificial intelligence is used

The Pathfinder uses a rules-based recommendation process and may also use an artificial-intelligence service to extract relevant information from your answers and improve the wording of your results. AI is not permitted to change the rules-based winner, ranking, or protected facts that determine your recommended direction.

When the AI service is available, assessment answers needed to prepare the result may be securely transmitted to our server and AI service provider for processing. Your name, email address, and marketing preference are not needed for the recommendation and are not intentionally included in the AI request.

If the AI service is unavailable or its response does not pass the Pathfinder’s safeguards, the application can use its rules-based fallback. The Pathfinder is designed to provide business-exploration guidance. Its output is not legal, financial, tax, medical, employment, or mental-health advice, and it does not make decisions that produce legal or similarly significant effects. Review the result using your own judgment before acting on it.

AI systems can misunderstand language or produce incomplete wording. If a result appears inaccurate, you may revise your answers, use the available retry option, or contact us.

When information is shared

We may allow the following service providers to process information only as needed to provide their services:

• •Application hosting and database providers, which host the Pathfinder and securely store contact and consent records.
• •AI service providers, which may process assessment answers to help prepare the results.
• •AWeber, our email-service provider, which receives your first name and email address only when you check the optional email-preference box. If you leave that box unchecked, your contact details are not sent to AWeber.
• •Security and technical service providers, which help operate, protect, and troubleshoot the application.

We may also disclose information when reasonably necessary to comply with law, respond to valid legal process, investigate fraud or security problems, protect rights or safety, or complete a business transfer such as a merger, sale, or reorganization. If a business transfer occurs, the recipient must handle the information subject to this policy or provide notice of material changes.

We do not sell personal information. We do not share personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising or targeted advertising. We do not provide assessment answers to data brokers.

Email choices

If you check the optional email box, we may send you tips, information, and offers related to turning your knowledge and experience into income. You can unsubscribe at any time by using the unsubscribe link in an email or contacting us at info@shanadouglas.com.

Unsubscribing stops future marketing emails, but we may retain a limited suppression record so that we continue to honor your request. Unsubscribing does not automatically delete other information that we are legally entitled or required to keep. You may make a separate deletion request using the contact information below.

How long information is kept

Assessment answers stored in your browser remain there until you use Start Over, clear the relevant browser data, or the browser or device removes them.

We retain contact information and consent records only for as long as reasonably necessary to provide the Pathfinder, manage the email relationship you requested, honor your preferences, maintain security, resolve disputes, and meet legal obligations. When information is no longer needed for these purposes, we delete it or de-identify it, subject to backups and records we must retain.

Your choices and privacy requests

Depending on where you live and which laws apply, you may have the right to request access to, correction of, or deletion of personal information; receive a portable copy; withdraw consent; or appeal a decision concerning a privacy request.

You may make a request by emailing info@shanadouglas.com. Please state the nature of your request and the email address you used with the Pathfinder. We may need to verify your identity before completing a request. We will use verification information only to process the request.

You may also use an authorized agent where applicable. We may request proof that the agent is authorized and may ask you to confirm the request directly.

We will not discriminate against you for exercising an applicable privacy right. Because we do not sell personal information or use it for targeted advertising, we do not currently offer a separate “Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information” mechanism.

Data security

We use reasonable administrative, technical, and organizational measures designed to protect personal information. These measures include separating contact records from assessment data, restricting public database access, validating submissions on the server, and keeping privileged credentials out of the browser application.

No internet transmission or storage system can be guaranteed to be completely secure. Please use care when deciding what information to enter online.

International processing

Our services and service providers may process information in the United States or other countries. These locations may have data-protection rules different from those where you live. Where required, we use appropriate safeguards for international transfers.

Children’s privacy

The Pathfinder is designed for adults and is not directed to anyone under 18. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 18. If you believe a child has submitted personal information, contact us so we can review and delete it as appropriate.

Changes to this policy

We may update this policy when our practices, service providers, or legal obligations change. We will post the revised policy with a new effective date. If a change materially affects how we use information already collected, we will provide additional notice or request consent when required.

Contact us

For questions or privacy requests, contact:

Shana Douglas Publishing, LLC

Doing business as Starting Over After 50

Email: info@shanadouglas.com