Privacy Policy

sacredwomaninstitute.com  —  Last Updated: April 28, 2026

1. WHO WE ARE

Sacred Woman Institute LLC is a Connecticut limited liability company owned and operated by Emyluz Delmar Riva, based in Westport, Connecticut, USA. Our website is sacredwomaninstitute.com. Contact: emyluz@sacredwomaninstitute.com.

We are deeply committed to protecting your privacy and handling your personal information with care, discretion, and respect. Given the sensitive and personal nature of the work we do, your privacy is not a formality -- it is a core value of this company.

2. SCOPE OF THIS POLICY

This Privacy Policy applies to personal information collected through sacredwomaninstitute.com, our email communications, client inquiry and booking processes, and in-person or remote service interactions. It does not apply to information independently collected by third-party platforms (such as YouTube, Substack, Squarespace, or payment processors) except as described below.

This policy is designed to comply with applicable privacy laws including the Connecticut Data Privacy Act (CTDPA, effective July 1, 2023), the CAN-SPAM Act, the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), and the general principles of the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), where applicable to our users.

3. WHAT INFORMATION WE COLLECT

Information you provide directly:

When you fill out a contact form, join our email list, inquire about services, book a session, or make a purchase, we may collect:

  • Your name

  • Your email address

  • Your mailing address (for physical product orders)

  • Any message, question, or personal information you voluntarily share

  • Health, wellness, or personal history information you choose to disclose when inquiring about or engaging with our services

  • Payment information (processed securely through third-party payment processors; we do not store card details)

Information collected automatically:

When you visit our website, we may automatically collect:

  • Your IP address

  • Browser type, version, and device type

  • Operating system

  • Pages visited, time spent on the site, and actions taken

  • Referring website or search terms

This information is collected through standard analytics tools (such as Squarespace Analytics) and used only in aggregate form to understand how our website is used. It is not used to identify you personally without your consent.

Sensitive personal information:

Given the nature of our work, you may voluntarily share sensitive personal information -- such as health history, emotional experiences, trauma history, relationship dynamics, or personal circumstances -- when engaging with our services. We treat all sensitive personal information with the highest level of confidentiality. We do not sell, share, or disclose sensitive personal information to any third party under any circumstances, except as required by law.

4. HOW WE USE YOUR INFORMATION

We use the information you provide to:

  • Respond to your inquiries and messages

  • Deliver email content you have subscribed to, including practices, essays, and updates

  • Communicate with you about services, programs, sessions, or products you have purchased or expressed interest in

  • Process orders for physical and digital products

  • Maintain client records in connection with services rendered

  • Fulfill shipping and delivery of physical products

  • Improve the content, services, and user experience of our website

  • Comply with applicable legal obligations, including tax and record-keeping requirements

We do not sell, rent, trade, or share your personal information with third parties for their own marketing purposes. Ever.

5. LEGAL BASIS FOR PROCESSING (GDPR)

For users in the European Union or European Economic Area, our legal bases for processing personal data are: (a) your consent, where explicitly given (e.g., email list subscription or sharing health information); (b) performance of a contract, where processing is necessary to deliver services or products you have requested; (c) legitimate interests, where we have a legitimate business interest not overridden by your rights (e.g., basic website analytics, fraud prevention); and (d) legal obligation, where processing is required by applicable law.

6. EMAIL COMMUNICATIONS

If you join our email list, you will receive periodic emails from Sacred Woman Institute containing practices, essays, and information about our offerings. Your consent to receive these communications is given at the time of subscription and may be withdrawn at any time.

You can unsubscribe at any time using the unsubscribe link at the bottom of any email, or by contacting us at emyluz@sacredwomaninstitute.com. We will process unsubscribe requests promptly and within 10 business days at most, in compliance with the CAN-SPAM Act.

We use a third-party email service provider (such as Flodesk or ConvertKit) to manage our email list and send communications. Your subscription data is stored securely with that provider. Please review their privacy policy for information on how they independently handle your data.

7. PHYSICAL PRODUCT ORDERS

When you purchase a physical product, your name and mailing address are used solely to fulfill and ship your order. Shipping may be fulfilled through third-party services including Printful or other logistics providers. Your order information will be shared with these providers only to the extent necessary to complete your purchase and deliver your product. We do not share your personal information with shipping partners for any purpose beyond order fulfillment.

8. THIRD-PARTY SERVICE PROVIDERS

We work with the following categories of third-party service providers who may process your personal information on our behalf, strictly for the purposes described in this policy:

  • Website hosting and analytics: Squarespace

  • Email marketing: Flodesk or ConvertKit

  • Payment processing: Stripe, PayPal, or similar (we do not store payment card details)

  • Session scheduling and booking tools, as applicable

  • Physical product fulfillment: Printful or similar dropshipping/logistics partners

  • Video platform: YouTube (for free public content)

  • Newsletter and essay platform: Substack

We select providers that meet reasonable data security standards and enter into appropriate data processing agreements where required. We are not responsible for how third-party platforms independently handle data outside of their relationship with Sacred Woman Institute. We encourage you to review the privacy policies of any third-party platforms you interact with.

9. COOKIES AND TRACKING TECHNOLOGIES

Our website may use cookies and similar tracking technologies (such as web beacons or pixel tags) to improve your experience and collect analytics data. Types of cookies we may use:

  • Strictly necessary cookies: Required for basic website functionality. These cannot be disabled without affecting site operation.

  • Analytics cookies: Used to understand how visitors interact with our site. Data is anonymized and aggregated (e.g., Squarespace Analytics).

  • Third-party embedded content cookies: May be set by third-party platforms (such as YouTube) when you interact with embedded content on our site.

You can manage or disable cookies through your browser preferences. Disabling certain cookies may affect the functionality of the website. We do not use cookies for cross-site behavioral advertising or tracking.

10. DATA RETENTION

We retain your personal information only for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes described in this policy or as required by applicable law:

  • Email subscriber data: Retained until you unsubscribe or request deletion.

  • Client session notes, intake forms, and service records: Retained for a minimum of 7 years from the last date of service, in accordance with standard business record-keeping practices and applicable Connecticut law.

  • Physical product order records: Retained for a minimum of 7 years for tax and accounting compliance.

  • Contact form submissions and general inquiries: Retained for up to 2 years.

Upon a verified deletion request, we will delete your personal information in accordance with applicable law, except where we are legally required or permitted to retain it (e.g., financial records, legal claims).

11. DATA SECURITY

We implement reasonable administrative, technical, and physical safeguards to protect your personal information from unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, or destruction. These measures include secure hosting platforms, limited internal access to personal data, and use of reputable third-party processors.

However, no method of internet transmission or electronic storage is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security. If you have reason to believe your information has been compromised in connection with Sacred Woman Institute, please contact us immediately at emyluz@sacredwomaninstitute.com.

In the event of a data breach that poses a risk to your rights or interests, we will notify you and any required regulatory authorities in accordance with applicable Connecticut and federal data breach notification laws, within the legally required timeframes.

12. YOUR RIGHTS

Depending on your location and applicable law, you may have the following rights regarding your personal information:

  • Right to access: Request a copy of the personal information we hold about you.

  • Right to correction: Request that inaccurate or incomplete information be corrected.

  • Right to deletion: Request that we delete your personal information, subject to legal retention requirements.

  • Right to restrict processing: Request that we limit how we use your information.

  • Right to data portability: Request your data in a commonly used, machine-readable format where applicable.

  • Right to object: Object to processing based on legitimate interests.

  • Right to withdraw consent: Withdraw consent at any time without affecting the lawfulness of prior processing.

  • Right to opt out of sale: We do not sell your personal information. This right is inherently and unconditionally honored.

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at emyluz@sacredwomaninstitute.com with the subject line "Privacy Rights Request." We will respond to verified requests within 30 days (or 45 days where permitted by law for complex requests). We will never retaliate against or discriminate against you for exercising your privacy rights.

13. CONNECTICUT DATA PRIVACY ACT (CTDPA)

As a Connecticut-based business, Sacred Woman Institute honors the rights of Connecticut residents under the Connecticut Data Privacy Act (effective July 1, 2023). Connecticut residents may exercise all rights described in Section 12 above. To submit a request, contact us at emyluz@sacredwomaninstitute.com with the subject line "CTDPA Privacy Request."

If we decline your request in whole or in part, you may appeal our decision by emailing us with "Privacy Rights Appeal" in the subject line within a reasonable time after receiving our decision. We will respond to appeals within 60 days and will inform you of any further rights you may have, including the right to submit a complaint to the Connecticut Attorney General.

14. CALIFORNIA RESIDENTS (CCPA / CPRA)

If you are a California resident, you have rights under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and the California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA), including: the right to know what personal information is collected about you and how it is used; the right to delete your personal information; the right to correct inaccurate personal information; the right to opt out of the sale or sharing of your personal information; and the right to limit use of sensitive personal information. We do not sell or share personal information as defined under CCPA/CPRA. To exercise your rights, contact us at emyluz@sacredwomaninstitute.com.

15. CHILDREN'S PRIVACY (COPPA)

Sacred Woman Institute's services, products, and website are strictly intended for adults aged 18 and over. We do not knowingly collect, solicit, or retain personal information from anyone under the age of 13, consistent with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), or from anyone under 18 consistent with our eligibility requirements. If you believe that a minor has submitted personal information to us, please contact us immediately at emyluz@sacredwomaninstitute.com and we will delete that information promptly.

16. INTERNATIONAL VISITORS

This website is operated from the United States. If you are accessing the Site from outside the United States, please be aware that your personal information may be transferred to, stored, and processed in the United States, where data protection laws may differ from those in your country or jurisdiction. By using this Site or engaging with our services or products, you consent to such transfer and processing. If you are located in the EU or EEA, please refer to Section 5 for the legal bases under which we process your data.

17. DO NOT TRACK

Some browsers transmit "Do Not Track" (DNT) signals to websites. Our website does not currently alter its data collection or use practices in response to DNT signals, as there is no universally accepted standard for interpreting or responding to such signals. We will update this section if our practices change.

18. CHANGES TO THIS POLICY

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our business practices, service offerings, or applicable law. When we make material changes, we will update the effective date at the top of this page and, where appropriate, notify subscribers by email. Continued use of the Site or engagement with our services or products after any update constitutes your acceptance of the revised policy. We encourage you to review this policy periodically.

19. CONTACT

For questions, requests, or concerns regarding this Privacy Policy or our data practices, please contact:

Sacred Woman Institute LLC

Attn: Emyluz Delmar Riva, Privacy

Email: emyluz@sacredwomaninstitute.com

Westport, Connecticut, USA