Privacy Policy

1. Information Collection

1.1 Information You Provide

In the course of using our services, you may voluntarily provide us with certain personal information, including but not limited to:

• Account credentials and personal identifiers (including your name, email address, and other contact information)
• Professional and company-related information pertaining to your organization
• Content and materials related to innovation submissions and intellectual property
• User feedback and platform interaction data
• Financial information necessary for payment processing
• Background information and professional history that you choose to provide
• Any additional personal or professional information you enter in profile sections
• Professional details, such as your role, supervisor, responsibilities, and duration in your role.
• Information about your work environment, company culture, and innovation priorities.
• Career-related information, such as your goals, motivations, passions, and work preferences.
• Innovation experience, such as details about implemented or unimplemented ideas.
• Any additional personal or professional information you voluntarily provide in optional sections of the platform.
• Voluntary Information: You may choose to provide additional information on a voluntary basis. This information is not required to use our platform, and you can skip these sections without affecting your access to core features.

1.2 Automatically Collected Information

Our platform automatically collects certain technical and usage information when you interact with our services, including:

• Platform usage metrics and interaction data
• Device-specific information, including hardware specifications and operating system details
• Geolocation data, where permitted by your device settings
• Cookie and tracking technology data as specified in Section 7
• Server logs and technical interaction records

2. Use of Information

2.1 Primary Uses

We utilize the collected information for the following essential purposes:

• Platform operation and service delivery
• Processing and facilitating financial transactions
• Service optimization and enhancement
• User communication and support
• Compliance with legal and regulatory obligations
• Background verification and professional history validation

2.2 Additional Uses

Your information may also be utilized for:

• Potential future training and improvement of PGI’s proprietary AI systems, if developed, including:
  • Using submitted content to enhance AI response accuracy
  • Analyzing user interactions to improve AI recommendations and platform functionality
  • Incorporating user feedback to refine AI algorithms
  • Building better innovation management processes based on aggregated data
  • This is subject to opt-out options in Section 4.3 and only applies if we pursue proprietary AI development
• Marketing communications and service announcements, subject to applicable laws
• Statistical analysis and performance metrics
• Service customization and feature development
• Process improvement and methodology enhancement based on platform usage patterns
• AI-powered analysis and insights generation from provided information
• To inform company leadership about potential communication needs, such as improving the alignment of company goals with employee understanding.
• To personalize AI interactions with you based on your professional context, preferences, and innovation experience.
• To enhance our understanding of user needs and improve the platform’s features and functionality.
• The use of voluntary information is solely for the purposes described above and is not required for basic platform functionality.

3. Data Sharing

3.1 Third-Party Service Providers

We engage with trusted third-party service providers who assist in operating our platform. These providers may include but are not limited to:

• Stripe for secure payment processing and financial transactions
• Clerk for user authentication and identity verification services
• Supabase for secure database management and storage
• Upstash for rate limiting and performance optimization
• Various AI service providers, including xAI, for platform functionality and background information processing
• Third-party verification services for background information validation
• PGI may modify service providers without prior notice

3.1.1 Changes to Service Providers

Regarding our AI and service providers:

• PGI maintains sole discretion to change, add, or remove any service providers, including AI providers
• Changes may occur without prior notice and take effect immediately
• Current AI providers may be replaced with alternative solutions
• Your continued use of the platform after any such changes constitutes acceptance of the new providers
• All service providers, current or future, will be bound by appropriate data protection agreements
• All third-party service providers, including AI providers, are required to adhere to strict data protection and confidentiality standards as outlined in their agreements with PGI."

3.2 Information Sharing with Employers

As the platform is a business-to-business service paid for by employers, we maintain transparent data sharing with companies:

• All user activity, including AI conversations and interactions, is accessible to authorized company representatives
• Users are reminded that all activities on the platform, including AI interactions and submissions, are visible to their employer. Users should not expect privacy from their employer when using the platform."
• Companies have full access rights to all data generated by their employees on the platform
• This includes, but is not limited to:
  • All AI conversation histories and interactions
  • Innovation submissions and related content
  • Usage patterns and activity logs
  • Any feedback or suggestions provided
• Company administrators can access this information at any time without prior notice to employees
• Employees acknowledge that no platform activity is private from their employer

3.3 Other Sharing Circumstances

We may also share information in these situations:

• To comply with valid legal requests or applicable laws
• During corporate transactions, mergers, or acquisitions
• With AI service providers (e.g., xAI) to enable platform functionality (e.g., generating responses), as part of our service. As of March 22, 2025, our chosen provider does not train on or retain data sent through the platform, and we’ll make a reasonable attempt to notify users if this changes, per Section 8.
• In other cases, only with explicit consent from an authorized company representative
• With third-party service providers who assist in the direct operation of our platform

4. Data Storage and Security

4.1 Storage Location

We take steps to protect your data:

• All data is hosted on US-based servers provided by trusted third parties
• We perform periodic security reviews to identify and address potential concerns as we’re able
• We use third-party services like Clerk to securely manage user authentication
• While we work to safeguard your data, no online service can guarantee complete security, and PGI is not liable for any loss or damage arising from platform use

4.2 Data Retention

We keep your data for as long as needed to provide our services, improve our platform (e.g., AI training), and meet legal requirements. We use backups to protect your data and retain them for operational purposes, such as recovery. After your account or your company’s subscription ends, we’ll delete your data within a reasonable timeframe, unless we’re required to keep it by law or for legitimate business needs.

4.3 Training and Process Improvement

By using our platform, you explicitly acknowledge and agree that:

• As of this policy’s last update (March 22, 2025), our chosen AI provider (e.g., xAI) does not train on or retain data sent through the platform. We’ll make a reasonable attempt to notify users via email or in-platform notices if this changes (e.g., switching to a provider that trains on data or if xAI changes their policy), consistent with Section 8
• All data submitted to or generated through the platform may be used to improve our platform and services
• Your interactions, feedback, and submissions may contribute to enhancing PGI’s innovation management processes
• If PGI develops its own proprietary AI systems in the future, we may use your data to train them. You can opt out of this future use for identifiable data by submitting a written request to contact@peergroupinstitute.com, though anonymized data may still be used
• Both individual users and company representatives authorize this potential use, whether you’re a company administrator, employee, or third-party contributor
• This authorization applies regardless of whether you are:
• A company administrator purchasing or managing the service
• An employee or authorized user accessing the platform
• A third-party contributor invited to participate in the platform
• While we may anonymize certain data for training, the core content may be used in its original form where necessary to improve our systems
• This authorization continues even after your account or service ends, subject to deletion rights in Section 6.1

4.4 Data Minimization and Protection

While we use data for training and process improvement, we implement the following safeguards:

• Personal identifiers are removed when possible for training purposes
• Sensitive company information is protected through appropriate security measures
• Access to raw data is strictly limited to authorized personnel
• Users can request information about how their specific data is being used
• PGI employees may access user data for operational purposes, such as platform maintenance, support, and legal compliance. Access is strictly limited to authorized personnel and protected by appropriate security measures.
• PGI is not liable for any loss or damage arising from the use of the platform

5. User Responsibilities and Company Policies

5.1 Corporate Policy Compliance

Users accessing our platform as employees or representatives of organizations should be aware:

• You are responsible for complying with your organization's internal privacy policies, data handling procedures, and security protocols
• PGI does not assume responsibility for any violations of your organization's internal policies or procedures
• You should consult with your organization's legal or compliance department regarding the appropriate use of our platform within your corporate environment
• Information sharing through our platform should align with your organization's data sharing and confidentiality requirements

5.2 Disclaimer of Corporate Policy Enforcement

Please note the following regarding corporate policies:

• PGI is not responsible for monitoring or enforcing individual corporate policies
• Users must independently verify their compliance with their organization's requirements
• While we work to protect your data with reasonable measures, no online service can guarantee complete security. We’re committed to safeguarding your information to the best of our ability.
• Any conflicts between our platform's functionality and corporate policies should be addressed within your organization
• PGI reserves the right to cooperate with organizations in cases of policy violations, but assumes no obligation to do so

6. User Rights

6.1 Access Rights

You maintain certain rights regarding your personal information:

• The right to request access to your personal data
• The right to request corrections to inaccurate information
• The right to request deletion of your data, subject to legal requirements, our legitimate business needs (such as AI training or platform improvement), and your employer’s access rights as outlined in Section 3.2. Deletion requests will be processed within a reasonable timeframe based on our operational capabilities.
• To exercise these rights, contact us at contact@peergroupinstitute.com. We’ll respond as soon as reasonably possible, typically within 30 days, depending on request volume and our resources.

6.2 Limitations

Certain limitations apply to your data rights:

• Your employer’s ownership and access rights over innovation-related content, as outlined in Section 3.2
• Data used for future proprietary AI training, if implemented, may be retained in anonymized form (stripped of personal identifiers) to enhance our services, even if you opt out of identifiable data use per Section 4.3
• Legal and regulatory retention requirements
• Technical constraints that may limit immediate data modification or deletion, such as backups, though we aim to address requests as feasible

7. Cookies and Tracking

7.1 Cookie Usage

Our platform utilizes various types of cookies:

• Essential cookies required for basic functionality (e.g., login and navigation) and for the platform to function
• Analytics cookies for performance monitoring, where applicable
• Third-party cookies from services like payment or authentication providers, subject to their privacy policies.
• We may introduce additional cookies in the future and will update this policy if we do.

7.2 Tracking Technologies

We employ various tracking technologies:

• Local storage to save user preferences and settings
• Analytics tools to optimize platform performance, where implemented
• Other technologies (e.g., web beacons or tracking pixels) may be used for content delivery or analytics as we develop our services.

8. Changes to Policy

This Privacy Policy may be updated periodically:

• We reserve the right to modify this policy at our discretion
• We’ll notify you of material changes (e.g., new data uses or rights changes) through methods like email or in-platform notices, typically before they take effect
• Your continued use of the platform after being notified of changes constitutes acceptance of the updated policy
• Users are encouraged to review this policy regularly