Privacy Policy

Last Modified: 11/15/2023

Please read this Privacy Policy carefully before using this site.

Please also review our website Terms & Conditions

1. About Us 

Our aim is to provide you with the best of Buddhist wisdom, teachings, practices, and experiences, as well as products and services in support of that aim. We hope you find inspiration, wisdom, and enjoyment as you browse our website. Lionsroar.com and its subdomains (store.lionsroar.com; learn.lionsroar.com) are published by the Lion’s Roar Foundation (“Lion’s Roar”), a 501(c)(3) charitable organization in the United States and a Registered Charity in Canada with business offices located at 2403 Clifton St., Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, B3K 4T9. 

Lion’s Roar also makes the same or similar content available to mobile users through iOS and Android apps and in our print publications Lion’s Roar and Buddhadharma: the Practitioner’s Quarterly. 

2. Effective Date and Scope

This Privacy Policy is effective as of 11/15/2023

At Lion’s Roar, the protection of your personal information is very important to us. This Privacy Policy adheres to the ten fair information principles stated in the Canadian Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (“PIPEDA”). These principles outline rules for the collection, use, storage, and disclosure of personal information; more information can be found at the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada.

Lion’s Roar also adheres to the California Online Privacy Protection Act by:

  • Allowing users to visit our Site anonymously; 
  • Providing a link to this Privacy Policy on our Site homepage; 
  • Including the term “Privacy” in a link to this policy on the Site homepage;
  • Outlining how and why we collect users personal information; and
  • Allowing users to review, update, or delete their personal information.

This Privacy Policy applies to our collection, use, storage and disclosure of personal information through Lion’s Roar affiliated websites or social media accounts, subdomains, electronic communications, subscriptions, and any Lion’s Roar hosted activities (“Site”).

Lion’s Roar reserves the right to update this Privacy Policy at any time and such modifications shall be effective immediately. We urge you to read this Privacy Policy carefully and check back periodically as this Privacy Policy may change from time to time.

3. Application

Lion’s Roar respects your privacy and seeks to protect it by complying with this policy. 

This policy applies to information, whether personal or otherwise, which we collect, use, or disclose about you on our Site. 

By accessing or using our Site you agree to be bound by the Website Terms and Conditions and our Privacy Policy. If you do not agree to this Privacy Policy, in whole or in part, please do not use our Site.

4. What Personal Information is Collected?

Personal information means any information about an individual from which that individual can be identified (“Personal Information”). This includes information such as your name, shipping and/or billing address, IP address, phone number, email address, and in addition, for Professionals using our Directory, other personally identifiable information. 

We will collect, use, store, and transfer necessary Personal Information about you as follows:

  • Identity Personal Information: This includes your first and last name, and may include date of birth, interests and activities, gender, and other demographic information.
  • Contact Personal Information: This includes your mailing address, phone number, and email address. 
  • Financial and Transaction Personal Information: This may include the email address associated with an online payment platform (for example, your PayPal ID) and details about transactions, for the purpose of processing some types of refunds. We do not collect or store credit card information. When you make a purchase from us, your credit card details are passed directly and securely to our card processor. 
  • Profile Personal Information: This includes your feedback, inquiries, and information provided about other people you provide us, your interaction with our Site, and a record of purchases made by you.  
  • Information from Other Sources: We may also periodically obtain information about you from other business partners, contractors, and third parties. For example, we periodically rent mailing lists from other publishers in order to promote magazine subscriptions.

5. How do we Collect Information About You?

Lion’s Roar may collect Personal Information in various ways, including through your interaction with our Site and through your communications with us. 

Information is collected through direct interactions with you when you provide it to us. For example, by signing up for an account on our Site or purchasing a product or subscription with us by phone, email, or otherwise.

Information is also collected through automated technologies as you navigate through our Site. Information collected automatically may include usage details, IP addresses, and information collected through cookies. 

6. How will my Information be Used? 

We may use your Personal Information to facilitate the delivery of our services. This may include, but is not limited to, communicating with you, providing customer support, for billing or record-keeping purposes, to perform background screening or research about users, to enforce our terms and services, to manage our business, to develop or offer services and products tailored to current and potential clients, and to otherwise correspond with you in accordance with applicable laws. 

When you purchase something from our Site, as part of the buying and selling process, we collect the Personal Information you provide us such as your name, email address, and credit card details. We do not sell, rent, or disclose your Personal Information to third parties without your consent unless it is required by law. 

We may share aggregated and non-personal information we collect under any of the above circumstances. We may also share it with third parties to develop and deliver targeted advertising on our Site and on websites of third parties. We may combine non-personal information we collect with additional non-personal information collected from other sources. We also may share aggregated information with third parties, including advisors, advertisers, and investors, for the purpose of conducting general business analysis. 

For example, we may tell our advertisers the number of visitors to our Site and the most popular features or services accessed. This information does not contain any Personal Information and may be used to develop website content and services that we hope you and other users will find of interest and to target content and advertising. 

For Professionals using our Directory, we may share your business contact information with third parties, including but not limited to, business name, address, telephone number, email address, and name of owner or proprietor of the business.

Our Site functions for and is accessible by the general public. We do not knowingly collect Personal Information from children under the age of thirteen. 

7. Financial Information 

We store a record of past financial transactions, including subscriptions, store and online course purchases, and donations. We do not share these records with any partners or third parties. 

8. Job Applicants

If your Personal Information is submitted through our Site when applying for a position with our company, the information will be used solely in connection with considering and acting upon your application. We may retain your Personal Information for a period of time, but only for the purpose of considering your application for current or future available positions. 

9. Who sees your Personal Information? 

Access to Personal Information within Lion’s Roar will be restricted to those individuals who need the information to carry out their responsibilities. The level of access to Personal Information will be granted on a need-to-know basis. These individuals include:

  • Authorized Service Providers: We may share your Personal Information with our authorized service providers that perform certain services on our behalf. These services may include: fulfilling orders, processing credit card payments, delivering packages, providing customer service and marketing assistance, performing business and sales analysis, supporting our Site functionality, and supporting contests, sweepstakes, surveys, and other features offered through our Site. These service providers may have access to Personal Information needed to perform their functions but are not permitted to share or use such information for any other purposes.
  • Business Partners: When you make purchases or engage in promotions offered through our Site or our services, we may share Personal Information with the businesses with which we partner to offer you those products, services, promotions, contests, and/or sweepstakes. When you elect to engage in a particular merchant’s offer or program, you authorize us to provide your email address and other information to that merchant.
  • Professionals using the Directory: We match your information and service request against our list of Professionals. When you submit a match request through our Site, you consent to our providing your Personal Information and request to the Professionals we match with your request. Sharing this information with Professionals allows them to contact you using the e-mail address or other contact information you provided. In addition, we have other approved contractual partners that fulfill service requests or that utilize their own Professionals to supplement our network, and we share your information with them subject to contractual confidentiality restrictions, in order to attempt to provide the services requested. If using our services pursuant to a membership with one of our partners, Lion’s Roar may share your service request activity information with such partner. We may also release information to collection and/or credit agencies for past due Professional accounts.
  • Direct Mail Partners: From time to time, we may share our postal mailing list with selected providers of goods and services that may be of interest to you. If you prefer not to have us share your postal mailing information with these selected providers, you can notify us at any time by emailing us at [email protected].

When you provide us with Personal Information to complete a transaction, verify your credit card, place an order, engage with our Site, arrange for a delivery, or return a purchase, we infer that you consent to our collecting it and using it for that specific reason only.

We may seek additional consent where required by law or in situations where we consider further consent to be necessary or appropriate. 

Subject to legal and contractual requirements, consent can be withdrawn at any time and will then take effect. If consent is refused or withdrawn, we may no longer be able to provide our services to you. 

To withdraw consent, please contact us at [email protected] so we can assist you. 

11. Storage of Personal Information 

We use cloud services provided by third parties to store Personal Information that we collect, including providers located in the United States, Canada, and other countries around the world. 

Please note that, given the nature of cloud services, your Personal Information may be stored outside the United States or Canada, anywhere in the world, and may be accessible to foreign courts, law enforcement, and national security authorities in the jurisdiction(s) where it is transferred or stored. 

12. What Security Measures are Taken to Protect Data? 

We protect Personal Information using physical, technological, and organizational safeguards (collectively, the “Safeguards”). We regularly review our practices to ensure they align with reasonable industry practices and are the appropriate  sensitivity level to safeguard Personal Information against accidental loss or theft, unauthorized access, alteration, or disclosure. 

Despite using the Safeguards outlined above, “perfect security” does not exist, particularly online. We cannot guarantee the security of Personal Information posted or transmitted via our Site. Third parties may unlawfully intercept or access such information. If you think there has been a breach of your privacy or you believe that you are the victim of fraud, please contact us at [email protected] soon as possible.

Please refer to the Federal Trade Commission for information about how to protect yourself against identity theft.

13. Limits of Collection

We will limit the collection of Personal Information to that which is reasonable and necessary to provide you with our services. However, we will also collect Personal Information as is otherwise required by law. 

14. Cookies and Other Technology 

We use various technologies to collect information from your computer and about your activities on our Site. 

When you visit our Site, we may assign your computer one or more cookies to facilitate access to our Site and to personalize your online experience. Through the use of a cookie, we also may automatically collect information about your online activity on our Site, such as the web pages you visit, the links you click, and the searches you conduct on our Site. 

Most browsers automatically accept cookies, but you can usually modify your browser setting to decline cookies. If you choose to decline cookies, please note that you may not be able to sign in or use some of the interactive features offered on our Site.

We may use standard internet technology, such as web beacons and other similar technologies, to track your use of our Site. We also may include web beacons in promotional or other e-mail messages or newsletters to determine whether messages have been opened and acted upon. The information we obtain in this manner enables us to customize the services we offer our Site visitors to deliver targeted advertisements and to measure the overall effectiveness of our online advertising, content, programming, or other activities.

15. How Long will Data be Stored?

Except as otherwise required by applicable law or regulation, we will only retain your Personal Information for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes we collected it for, including for the purposes of satisfying any legal, accounting, or reporting requirements. 

When we are no longer required to retain Personal Information, we will destroy, erase, or de-identify it. 

16. Accessing and Correcting your Personal Information 

If you have an online consumer account with us, you have the ability to review and update your Personal Information online. Lion’s Roar will respond to any request for access to your Personal Information. There is typically no cost for reasonable requests. However, you will be advised of any potential costs prior to retrieval. We will not respond to requests that are frivolous, vexatious, or repetitious.

It is important to Lion’s Roar that the information you provide us is up-to-date and accurate. If there are any changes to your information, if there is an inaccuracy, or if the information is incomplete, please contact us at [email protected] to make necessary changes.

You also have the right to formally request access or make corrections to your Personal Information under PIPEDA. Lion’s Roar will respond in accordance with PIPEDA

You can also disable your account by contacting [email protected]. After you deactivate your account, you will not be able to sign in to our Site or access any of your Personal Information. However, you can open a new account at any time. If you deactivate your account, we may still retain certain information associated with your account for analytical purposes and recordkeeping integrity, as well as to prevent fraud, collect any fees owed, enforce our terms and conditions, take actions we deem necessary to protect the integrity of our Site or our users, or take other actions otherwise permitted by law. In addition, if certain information has already been provided to third parties as described in this Privacy Policy, retention of that information will be subject to those third parties’ policies.

17.  Third Parties 

From time to time, we may allow third parties, including but not limited to, our authorized service providers, advertising companies, and ad networks to display advertisements on our site. These companies may use tracking technologies, such as cookies, to collect information about users who view or interact with their advertisements. Our Site does not provide any Personal Information to these third parties. This information allows them to deliver targeted advertisements and gauge their effectiveness. Some of these third party advertising companies may be advertising networks that are members of the Network Advertising Initiative, which offers a single location to opt out of ad targeting from member companies (www.networkadvertising.org).

There are a number of places on our Site where you may click on a link to access other websites that do not operate under this Privacy Policy. For example, if you click on an advertisement or a search result on our Site, you may be taken to a website that we do not control. These third party websites may independently solicit and collect information, including Personal Information, from you and, in some instances, provide us with information about your activities on those websites. We recommend that you consult the privacy statements of all third-party websites you visit by clicking on the “privacy” link typically located at the bottom of the webpage you are visiting.

This Privacy Policy does not create rights enforceable by third parties or require disclosure of any Personal Information relating to users of the website.

18. Surveys, Blogs, Bulletin Boards, Reviews, and Chat Rooms 

We may provide areas on our Site where you can post information about yourself and others and communicate with others, as well as post reviews of products, establishments, contractors, and the like, or upload content (e.g. pictures, videos, audio files, etc.). Such postings are governed by our Terms and Conditions. We do not review or share any information provided via surveys except anonymously, and in aggregate. However, if you voluntarily post information to a review, chat room, blog, bulletin board or other similar, public forum, your post (including any Personal Information you include) may be publicly viewable and can be collected and used by others. In addition, such postings may appear on other websites or when searches are executed on the subject of your posting. For example, if you post your email address, you may receive unsolicited messages. We cannot control who reads your posting or what other users may do with the information you voluntarily post. We encourage you to exercise discretion and caution with respect to your Personal Information. Once you have posted information, you may not be able to edit or delete such information.

19. Location

This Privacy Policy is intended to cover collection of information on our Site from residents of the United States and Canada. If you are visiting our Site from outside the United States or Canada, please be aware that your information may be transferred to, stored, and processed in the United States and Canada where our servers are located and our central database is operated. 

The data protection and other laws of the United States or Canada might not be as comprehensive as those in your country. Please be assured that we seek to take reasonable steps to ensure that your privacy is protected. By using our services, you understand that your information may be transferred to our facilities and those third parties with whom we share it as described in this Privacy Policy.

20. Changes to this Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy periodically to reflect changes to our privacy practices. We encourage you to periodically review this page to ensure you are familiar with those changes. 

21. Contact Us 

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or our information-handling practices or if you would like to request information about our disclosure of Personal Information to third parties for their direct marketing purposes, please contact us by email at [email protected] 

For Canadian users, your rights to access your Personal Information are not absolute. We may deny access:

  • When required by applicable law;
  • When granting access would have unreasonable impact on other people’s privacy;
  • To protect Lion’s Roars rights and property; and
  • Where the request is frivolous or vexatious.

If we deny your request for access or refuse a request to correct Personal Information, we will explain why.

We may provide this information in a standardized format that is not specific to you. The designated email address for these requests is [email protected]