Privacy Policy

1) What personal information we collect

We collect only what we need to provide lessons, scheduling, communication, and billing.

A. Booking and contact information

• Name
• Email address
• Phone number
• Appointment details (date/time, lesson type, package selection)
• Time zone and scheduling preferences

B. Student/lesson information (optional)

• Student’s age, experience level, goals, and learning preferences
• Practice preferences and lesson notes
• Any details you choose to share to support instruction
  (Please avoid sharing sensitive information unless it’s truly necessary.)

C. Lesson recordings (audio), optional

• With your permission, we may record audio during lessons for:
  1. sending audio clips to the student for practice support, and/or
  2. creating lesson plans and practice notes that fit the student.
• Recordings may capture a student’s voice, instrument sound, and/or teacher instructions (which can be personal information).

D. Payments

If you pay online:

• Online payments are processed by Stripe.
• Virtuo Violin does not receive or store your full card number.
• We may receive payment related details such as payment status, amount, date/time, and transaction/receipt identifiers (and in some cases limited details like card brand and last 4 digits, depending on Stripe settings).

2) How we collect personal information

We collect information when you:

• Book lessons through Virtuo Violin Booking.
• Submit an inquiry or contact us by email
• Provide optional lesson/student information (e.g., goals, level, notes)
• Provide (optional) consent for audio recording during lessons
• Use our website, which may use cookies or similar technologies (see Section 9)

3) Why we collect and use personal information

We use personal information to:

• Provide and manage lessons (scheduling, reminders, lesson delivery)
• Communicate about lessons, changes, studio updates, and support
• Prepare lesson plans and track progress (if you choose to provide that information)
• (If you consent) record audio for practice support and lesson planning that fits the student
• Process payments and provide receipts through Stripe
• Maintain records for legitimate business purposes (e.g., accounting)
• Improve our website and services
• Comply with legal obligations and respond to lawful requests

Under privacy law, we aim to limit collection to what’s reasonable and necessary for the purposes identified.

4) Consent (including recordings) and your choices

PIPA requires consent for collecting/using/disclosing personal information, and individuals can withdraw consent (with reasonable notice) subject to legal/contract limitations.

Audio recording consent

• Audio recording is optional. We will not record unless you (or a parent/guardian for minors) agree.
• If you do not consent, lessons still proceed normally; recording is not required to receive instruction.
• You can ask to stop recording at any time. If you withdraw consent, we will stop recording going forward.

Marketing use

We do not use lesson recordings for advertising, testimonials, or public posting unless we have your separate, express permission.

5) Scheduling and service providers

Lesson bookings are managed through Virtuo Violin Booking. Online payments are processed by Stripe. Online lesson meetings use Zoom, and booking emails are sent through Hostinger.

We provide each service with the information needed for its role in delivering these services.

Teacher Google Calendar connection

Virtuo Violin Booking manages lesson bookings and teacher availability.

Only the teacher connects Google Calendar. We use account, calendar and availability information to prevent lesson conflicts and manage lesson entries. We store account/calendar references, busy times, update times and lesson-event links, including in encrypted backups. Availability checks do not request other events’ titles, notes, locations or attendees or share those details with payment, video or email services. Students do not connect Google calendars.

6) When we disclose personal information

We do not sell your personal information.

We may disclose personal information only as needed to:

• Provide lessons and manage bookings.
• Process payments you authorize (e.g., through Stripe)
• Deliver optional services you request (e.g., sending lesson audio to you)
• Work with service providers who help us operate our business
• Comply with legal requirements

7) Recording storage, sharing, and retention

How recordings are shared:

If you choose to receive lesson audio, we may send it via email attachment or a secure download link.

Where recordings are stored:

Recordings may be stored in secure accounts/devices controlled by Virtuo Violin and/or with reputable service providers.

How long recordings are kept:

We keep recordings only as long as needed to support learning and lesson planning. As a general practice, recordings are typically kept for up to 90 days, then deleted.

8) Children and students under the age of majority

Many students are minors. If you book lessons for a minor, you confirm you are the parent/guardian (or otherwise authorized) and consent to the collection and use of the minor’s personal information for lesson delivery and administration.

9) Cookies and optional website analytics

Our website and embedded tools may use cookies or similar technologies to function properly.

• You can control cookies through your browser settings.
• Blocking cookies may affect site features, including booking account sign-in.

Optional Google Analytics

We use Google Analytics 4 only after you select Accept analytics. Before that choice, or if you select Reject analytics, our Google Analytics tag does not load and sends no analytics data to Google.

If you agree, analytics helps us understand visits to our public pages and improve the website. Google Analytics may collect public page titles and paths, a limited set of referring websites, engagement information, browser and device information, approximate location, and pseudonymous analytics cookie identifiers.

We do not send names, email addresses, student ages, contact messages, lesson details, or other form contents to Google Analytics. We exclude URL query strings and fragments. We do not use this setup for advertising, Google Signals, or personalized ads, and we do not treat a booking or email button click as a completed inquiry or lesson.

Accepting analytics is optional and is not required to contact us or book lessons. Accept and reject choices are offered together. We save only your analytics choice, its date, and the notice version in your browser for up to 180 days so we can respect your preference. If your browser cannot save a preference, we keep analytics off on that page and show a notice about the storage problem.

If analytics was already accepted when you submitted the contact form, we may count one accepted enquiry after our server confirms that its mail service accepted the message. This does not confirm delivery to an inbox or a reply. We use a private, single-use receipt that expires after five minutes and a secure first-party receipt cookie for up to five minutes to prevent repeated counting. The receipt contains no form contents, and neither the receipt identifier nor your contact details are sent to Google. Enquiries submitted before consent are not counted later when you accept analytics. Expired private receipts are removed during the next server cleanup request.

You can reopen Analytics choices in the footer at any time. Select Reject analytics to withdraw consent: we stop future measurement from our tag and remove its analytics cookies from this website. We also request removal of any pending enquiry receipt; if that cleanup is blocked, the receipt expires within five minutes and cannot be counted under a new consent choice. Withdrawal does not undo information already sent while you had agreed.

The map and other embedded services are separate from this optional website analytics choice and may use their own technologies to provide their features. Learn more in Google's privacy policy.

10) Where information is stored/processed

Some service providers we use, including Stripe, Zoom, Hostinger and Google, may store or process information outside Canada.

11) How we protect personal information

We use reasonable safeguards appropriate to the sensitivity of the information, which include access controls, strong account security, and using reputable service providers.

12) Accessing and correcting your information

You may request access to your personal information and ask for corrections. We may need to verify your identity before releasing or correcting information.

13) Changes to this Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. The “Last updated” date will reflect the latest revision.

14) Contact (Privacy Officer)

Privacy Officer: Anthony Sabberton
Email: info@virtuoviolin.com
Business location: Surrey, British Columbia, Canada