PRIVACY POLICY
Institute For Empowerment LLC
EffectiveĀ July 1, 2026
1. SCOPE AND ACCEPTANCE
Institute For Empowerment LLC, a California limited liability company ("Company," "we," "us," or "our"), owns and operates the website located at https://www.melaniewhitney.com (the "Website") and the Melanie AI Subscription, which includes the Melanie AI conversational tool ("Melanie AI") and the Awareness Archives content library.
This Privacy Policy describes the personal information we collect, the purposes for which we process it, the parties with whom we disclose it, and the rights available to you. It applies to the Website, to the Melanie AI Subscription, and to email and other electronic communications between you and the Company. It does not apply to information collected offline, or to any third-party website or service, including those to which the Website may link.
By accessing the Website or using the Melanie AI Subscription, you acknowledge that you have read and understood this Privacy Policy. If you do not agree with its terms, please discontinue use.
2. COLLECTION AND USE OF PERSONAL INFORMATION
2.1 Information Provided by You
- Contact information, including your name and email address, and, where you elect to provide it, your telephone number and mailing address.
- Account information, including the credentials and preferences associated with your account.
- Order and billing information, including payment method details, billing address, and transaction history. Payment processing is performed by Kajabi Payments (powered by Stripe), including express checkout methods such as Apple Pay and Google Pay. The Company does not store complete payment card numbers.
- Correspondence, including information submitted through contact forms, email, and survey responses.
- Conversation content, meaning all information you submit to Melanie AI. Section 3 governs the treatment of this category.
2.2 Information Collected Automatically
- Internet protocol (IP) address, date and time of access, browser type, operating system, device type, and referring and exit pages.
- General geographic location inferred from IP address, and, where the Website is accessed by mobile device, information regarding that device and its use of the Website.
- Email engagement information, including whether a message was opened and which links were selected.
2.3 Sensitive Personal Information
Melanie AI is a personal development tool. As a consequence of its purpose, information you elect to submit to it may reveal sensitive categories of personal information, including information concerning your mental or emotional health, your relationships, your religious or philosophical beliefs, or your family circumstances. The Company does not request such information, and you are under no obligation to provide it. Where you elect to provide it, the Company processes it in accordance with Section 3.
You should not submit to Melanie AI: government identification numbers; financial account numbers; passwords or authentication credentials; information you are legally obligated to maintain in confidence; or private information concerning other individuals that you do not have the right to disclose.
3. MELANIE AI: NATURE OF THE SERVICE AND TREATMENT OF CONVERSATION CONTENT
This Section describes practices specific to Melanie AI and should be reviewed carefully.
3.1 Nature of the Service
Melanie AI is a software application. It is not a natural person, and it is not Melanie Whitney. Its responses are generated by artificial intelligence. No individual, including Melanie Whitney, reviews or responds to conversations in real time. Melanie AI is not a crisis service and does not constitute medical, psychological, or other professional care.
3.2 Storage and Processing of Conversation Content
Melanie AI stores conversation content. This storage enables the service to reference prior conversations and to develop personalized responses over time.
Conversation content is transmitted to, stored by, and processed by our AI service provider and the large language model provider it engages, for the purpose of operating the service. Their processing of conversation content is governed by their own terms of service and privacy practices in addition to this Privacy Policy. The Company does not control, and cannot guarantee, the internal data practices of these providers. You should review their published terms before submitting information you would not wish a third-party service provider to hold.
3.3 Permitted Uses of Conversation Content by the Company
Melanie Whitney and authorized Company personnel may access and review conversation content solely for the following internal purposes:
- To understand how subscribers use Melanie AI and the purposes for which they engage it;
- To improve the accuracy, safety, and quality of Melanie AI's responses;
- To inform the development of the Company's educational content and programs, in aggregated or de-identified form;
- To investigate suspected violations of the Subscription Agreement, to protect the safety of any person, and to comply with applicable law.
3.4 Restrictions on the Company's Use of Conversation Content
The Company will not publish conversation content. The Company will not quote conversation content in marketing materials, testimonials, social media, or any other public communication. The Company will not sell conversation content. The Company will not disclose identifiable conversation content to any party other than the service providers identified in Section 6. Any exception requires your separate, specific, written consent, or is compelled by law.
3.5 Absence of Privilege or Confidentiality
Conversation content does not constitute a privileged or confidential communication of the kind established with a licensed therapist, an attorney, or a member of the clergy. No evidentiary privilege attaches to it.
3.6 Deletion of Conversation Content
Conversation content is retained until you request its deletion. You may submit a deletion request at any time, whether or not your subscription remains active, by contacting [email protected]. Upon verification of your request, the Company will delete conversation content from the systems within its control and will request deletion from its service providers. The Company cannot guarantee the timing or completeness of deletion within systems it does not control. Deletion of conversation history will terminate Melanie AI's ability to reference your prior conversations.
4. PURPOSES OF PROCESSING
The Company processes personal information for the following purposes:
- To provide, operate, maintain, and improve the Website and the Melanie AI Subscription;
- To process orders, administer accounts, and effect billing;
- To transmit transactional communications concerning your account, subscription, billing, and material changes to our terms. You may not opt out of transactional communications;
- To transmit newsletters and promotional communications, where you have elected to receive them. You may withdraw this election at any time;
- To respond to inquiries and provide customer support;
- For system administration, information security, troubleshooting, and the prevention of fraud;
- To evaluate, in aggregate, the performance of our content and offerings;
- To comply with legal obligations and to establish, exercise, or defend legal claims.
5. COOKIES, TRACKING TECHNOLOGIES, AND BROWSER SIGNALS
5.1 Cookies
The Company uses cookies necessary to the operation of the Website, including to retain your preferences, operate cart and checkout functions, maintain authenticated sessions, record your acceptance of our terms, provide support, and compile aggregate statistics regarding visitor numbers, pages accessed, and time on site.
The Company does not deploy advertising pixels, retargeting tags, or cross-context behavioral advertising technologies on the Website.
You may configure your browser to refuse cookies. Certain functions of the Website may not operate correctly if you do so.
5.2 Embedded Third-Party Content
Certain pages contain content embedded from third parties, including video players, social media components, and the Melanie AI interface, which is delivered by our AI service provider within an embedded frame. Embedded content may set its own cookies, deploy its own analytics or session-recording technologies, and collect information regarding your interaction with it, in the same manner as if you had visited that third party's own website. The Company does not control these technologies. Your interaction with embedded content is governed by the privacy practices of the third party that provides it.
5.3 Do Not Track and Global Privacy Control
Certain browsers transmit a "Do Not Track" (DNT) signal. No uniform industry standard governs the response to such signals. Because the Company does not track users across third-party websites over time and does not engage in cross-context behavioral advertising, the Company does not modify its practices in response to DNT signals.
The Company recognizes the Global Privacy Control (GPC) as a valid opt-out preference signal. Because the Company does not sell or share personal information as those terms are defined under California law, a GPC signal has no present effect. Should the Company's practices change, it will honor GPC signals and will amend this Privacy Policy prior to any such change taking effect.
6. DISCLOSURE OF PERSONAL INFORMATION TO THIRD PARTIES
The Company discloses personal information only as described in this Privacy Policy. The service providers engaged by the Company are:
- Kajabi - hosting of the Website, delivery of courses and content, account administration, and email services;
- Kajabi Payments (powered by Stripe) - payment processing, including Apple Pay and Google Pay;
- CoachVox AI - operation of Melanie AI, including the storage and processing of conversation content;
- The large language model provider engaged by CoachVox AI - generation of Melanie AI's responses;
- Meta Platforms (Facebook and Instagram), LinkedIn, and YouTube (Google) - social media presence and embedded content only.
The Company may additionally disclose personal information: to an acquirer or successor in connection with a merger, acquisition, reorganization, or sale of assets; to comply with a subpoena, court order, or other lawful request from a governmental authority; to enforce its agreements, including for purposes of billing and collection; and where the Company believes in good faith that disclosure is necessary to protect the rights, property, or safety of the Company, its subscribers, or the public.
Certain service providers may process or store personal information outside your country of residence, including within the United States and the United Kingdom.
7. NO SALE OR SHARING OF PERSONAL INFORMATION
The Company does not sell personal information, and does not share personal information for purposes of cross-context behavioral advertising, as those terms are defined under the California Consumer Privacy Act as amended. The Company has not engaged in either practice at any time. The Company does not authorize third parties to collect personally identifiable information from Website visitors for those parties' own purposes.
8. DATA RETENTION
The Company retains personal information for the periods set forth below, or for such longer period as may be required by law.
- Account, order, and billing records: for the duration of the account and for four (4) years thereafter, consistent with the applicable statute of limitations for actions upon a written contract under California law. Records evidencing consent to automatic renewal are retained for not less than three (3) years, or one (1) year following termination of the subscription, whichever period is longer.
- Conversation content: for the duration of the subscription and thereafter until you request deletion. You may request deletion at any time, whether or not your subscription remains active, in accordance with Section 3.6. The Company may also delete or de-identify conversation content at its discretion.
- Email marketing information: until you withdraw your consent, following which a suppression record is retained indefinitely for the sole purpose of honoring that withdrawal.
- Server and browsing logs: for the retention period applied by our hosting provider.
- Correspondence: for such period as is necessary to resolve the matter and thereafter as required for the Company's records.
9. DATA SECURITY AND BREACH NOTIFICATION
The Company implements and maintains reasonable security procedures and practices appropriate to the nature of the personal information it holds, in accordance with California Civil Code section 1798.81.5. No method of transmission over the internet, and no method of electronic storage, is entirely secure. The Company therefore cannot warrant absolute security.
In the event of a breach of the security of the system involving your unencrypted personal information, the Company will provide notice in the most expedient time possible and without unreasonable delay, consistent with the legitimate needs of law enforcement and any measures necessary to determine the scope of the breach and restore the integrity of the system, as required by California Civil Code section 1798.82.
10. YOUR PRIVACY RIGHTS
Regardless of your place of residence, you may submit a request that the Company:
- Disclose the categories and specific pieces of personal information it holds concerning you;
- Correct inaccurate personal information;
- Delete your personal information, including conversation content;
- Provide a copy of your personal information in a portable format;
- Cease sending you marketing communications;
- Withdraw consent previously given, where processing is founded upon consent.
Requests may be submitted to [email protected]. The Company will verify your identity prior to acting upon a request and will respond within forty-five (45) days. The Company may decline a request where compliance would conflict with a legal obligation, including the retention of records the Company is required to maintain.
10.1 California Residents
Residents of California hold additional rights under the California Consumer Privacy Act, as amended by the California Privacy Rights Act. Those rights, together with the procedures for exercising them, are set forth on the Company's California Privacy Rights page: https://www.melaniewhitney.com/california-privacy-rights
10.2 Non-Discrimination
The Company will not discriminate against you for exercising any privacy right, including by denying goods or services, charging a different price, or providing a different level or quality of service.
11. MINORS
The Website is not directed to children under thirteen (13) years of age, and the Company does not knowingly collect personal information from such children. If the Company learns that it has collected personal information from a child under thirteen, it will delete that information promptly. If you believe the Company may hold information concerning a child under thirteen, contact [email protected].
The Melanie AI Subscription is available exclusively to individuals eighteen (18) years of age or older. Artificial intelligence conversation tools may not be suitable for all users, including certain minors. The Company does not knowingly permit any individual under eighteen to subscribe and will terminate any subscription it reasonably believes to be held by a minor.
12. INTERNATIONAL USERS AND CROSS-BORDER DATA TRANSFERS
The Company is established in the State of California, United States. The Website and the Melanie AI Subscription are directed to users located within the United States. If you access them from another jurisdiction, you do so on your own initiative and are responsible for compliance with the laws applicable in your location. Your personal information will be transferred to and processed within the United States, and may be processed by service providers located in the United Kingdom, where data protection laws may differ from those of your jurisdiction. The Company makes no representation that the Website or its content is appropriate or available for use outside the United States.
Irrespective of your place of residence, you may exercise the rights enumerated in Section 10 by contacting the Company, and the Company will honor verified requests.
13. MODIFICATIONS TO THIS PRIVACY POLICY
The Company may amend this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in its practices or in applicable law. Where an amendment is material, the Company will post a conspicuous notice on the Website prior to the amendment taking effect and will revise the effective date set forth at the head of this document. Your continued use following the effective date constitutes acceptance of the amended Privacy Policy. You are encouraged to review this Privacy Policy periodically.
Where the Company proposes to use personal information already collected in a manner materially different from the practices disclosed at the time of collection, it will obtain your affirmative consent before doing so.
14. CONTACT INFORMATION
Institute For Empowerment LLC
9121 Atlanta Ave #7037
Huntington Beach, CA 92646-6309
Email: [email protected]
