Privacy Policy

1. Introduction

Welcome to 16 Types of Soul (“we,” “our,” or “us”). We are committed to protecting your privacy and personal information. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you visit our website at 16typesofsoul.com (“the Website”) and use our personality assessment services.

By using our Website, you consent to the data practices described in this policy. If you do not agree with any part of this policy, please do not use our services.

2. Information We Collect

2.1 Information You Voluntarily Provide

• Personality test responses: Your answers to personality assessment questions
• Email address: When you choose to enter your email to view your full results or subscribe to our newsletter
• Ratings and reviews: Star ratings (1-5) and optional written feedback you provide about our test
• Language preferences: Your selected display language
• Newsletter subscription preferences: Your opt-in choices for receiving personalized tips and insights
• Any other feedback or correspondence you send to us

2.2 Automatically Collected Information

• Device information (browser type, operating system)
• IP address (used for rate limiting and anonymized for analytics)
• Usage data (pages visited, time spent on site, referral sources)
• Cookies and similar tracking technologies (see Section 4)

2.3 Local Storage

We use your browser's local storage to save your personality test results, preferences, and usage history locally on your device. This data is stored entirely on your device and includes:

• Your personality test results and score breakdowns
• Compatibility check history
• Tarot and palm reading history
• Zodiac preferences and birth chart data
• Content viewing history
• Theme and language preferences

You can clear this data at any time by clearing your browser's local storage, using your browser's settings, or using our “Reset Results” feature.

2.4 Cookies

We use cookies to store your consent preferences and, with your permission, your personality test results for a more personalized experience when you return. See Section 4 for full details on our cookie usage.

3. How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect to:

• Provide and maintain our personality assessment services
• Calculate and display your personality type results
• Send you personalized tips and insights if you subscribed to our newsletter
• Display aggregated ratings and reviews from users (anonymously)
• Improve our website, assessments, and user experience
• Analyze usage patterns to enhance our services
• Prevent abuse through rate limiting (using IP addresses)
• Respond to your inquiries and support requests
• Comply with legal obligations

4. Cookies and Tracking Technologies

We use cookies and similar tracking technologies to track activity on our website and hold certain information. When you first visit our Website, you will be shown a cookie consent banner where you can choose which types of cookies to accept.

Types of Cookies We Use:

Managing Your Cookie Preferences

You can change your cookie preferences at any time by clearing your cookies through your browser settings. On your next visit, the consent banner will appear again. You can also instruct your browser to refuse all cookies or to indicate when a cookie is being sent. Note that if you refuse preference cookies, you may need to retake the personality test each time you visit.

5. Email Communications

If you provide your email address through our results page:

• We will send you a welcome email with your personality type summary
• If you opted in to personalized tips, we may send periodic emails with insights related to your personality type
• You can unsubscribe from all non-essential emails at any time using the unsubscribe link in every email
• We will never sell, rent, or share your email address with third parties for marketing purposes
• We use Resend as our email service provider to send these communications

6. User Reviews and Ratings

When you submit a rating or review:

• Your star rating (1-5) and optional written review are stored in our database
• Your personality type may be associated with your review for display purposes
• Reviews are anonymous - we do not collect or display your name or email with reviews
• Selected positive reviews may be displayed publicly on our website as testimonials
• We reserve the right to moderate or remove reviews that contain inappropriate content
• Your IP address is temporarily used for rate limiting to prevent spam (not stored permanently)

7. Data Sharing and Disclosure

We do NOT sell, trade, or rent your personal information to third parties. We may share information in the following situations:

• Service Providers: With third-party vendors who assist in operating our website (hosting, analytics, email delivery)
• Analytics: Anonymized, aggregated data with Google Analytics (if you consented to analytics cookies)
• Legal Requirements: If required by law or in response to valid legal requests
• Business Transfers: In connection with a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets

Third-Party Services We Use:

• Google Analytics: Website traffic analysis (with consent)
• Google AdSense: Display advertising
• MongoDB Atlas: Database hosting for newsletter subscriptions and reviews
• Resend: Email delivery service
• Vercel: Website hosting

8. Data Security

We implement appropriate technical and organizational security measures to protect your personal information against unauthorized access, alteration, disclosure, or destruction. These measures include:

• HTTPS encryption for all data in transit
• Rate limiting on API endpoints to prevent abuse
• CSRF protection on form submissions
• Input validation and sanitization on all user inputs
• Secure cookie settings (SameSite, Secure flags)

However, no method of transmission over the Internet or electronic storage is 100% secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

9. Data Retention

• Local storage data: Retained until you clear it or use our reset feature
• Cookies: Preference cookies expire after 1 year. Essential cookies expire when you close your browser or after 1 year.
• Email addresses: Retained while your newsletter subscription is active. Deleted upon unsubscribe request.
• Reviews and ratings: Retained indefinitely as anonymous user feedback
• Rate limiting data: Automatically purged within 1-2 hours

10. Your Rights

Depending on your location, you may have the following rights:

Under GDPR (EU/EEA Residents):

• Access: Request a copy of the personal data we hold about you
• Rectification: Request correction of inaccurate personal data
• Erasure: Request deletion of your personal data (“right to be forgotten”)
• Portability: Request transfer of your data to another service
• Objection: Object to processing of your personal data
• Withdraw Consent: Withdraw consent at any time (e.g., cookie preferences, newsletter subscription)
• Restriction: Request restriction of processing of your personal data

Under CCPA (California Residents):

• Right to Know: What personal information is collected and how it's used
• Right to Delete: Request deletion of your personal information
• Right to Opt-Out: Opt out of the sale of personal information (we do not sell personal data)
• Non-Discrimination: Equal service regardless of whether you exercise your privacy rights

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at privacy@16typesofsoul.com. We will respond to your request within 30 days.

11. Children's Privacy

Our website is not intended for children under 13 years of age (or under 16 in the EU/EEA). We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you are a parent or guardian and believe your child has provided us with personal information, please contact us at privacy@16typesofsoul.com, and we will take steps to delete such information.

12. International Data Transfers

Your information may be transferred to and processed in countries other than your country of residence, including the United States. These countries may have data protection laws that differ from your country. We rely on standard contractual clauses and other appropriate safeguards to ensure that your personal information remains protected in accordance with this Privacy Policy.

13. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of any material changes by posting the new Privacy Policy on this page and updating the “Last updated” date. For significant changes, we may also provide notice through a banner on our Website. You are advised to review this Privacy Policy periodically for any changes. Your continued use of the Website after changes are posted constitutes your acceptance of the updated policy.

14. Contact Us

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, our privacy practices, or wish to exercise your data rights, please contact us at:

Email: privacy@16typesofsoul.com