Privacy Policy for MetArt GIF: Protecting Your Personal Data

1. Introduction & General Provisions

Welcome to the Privacy Policy of MetArt GIF Network ("we," "our," or "us"). This policy governs the collection, processing, and storage of your personal data when you interact with our website, metart-gif.net, and related services. We are committed to safeguarding your privacy and ensuring transparency about our data practices. By accessing our platform, you acknowledge that you have read, understood, and agree to the terms outlined herein.

This policy applies to all visitors, users, and members of our service. It is designed to comply with applicable data protection regulations, including the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and other relevant privacy laws.

2. What Data We Collect

We collect information that helps us provide, improve, and personalize your experience. This data falls into two categories:

• Information You Provide Directly: This includes data you submit when creating an account, contacting support, or participating in community features. Examples: email address, username, optional profile details, and communication content.
• Automatically Collected Information: When you visit our site, certain technical data is automatically logged. This includes your IP address, browser type, device identifiers, operating system, referring URLs, pages viewed, clickstream data, and timestamps. We use this for analytics, security, and site functionality.
• Usage & Preference Data: We collect information about how you interact with our content—such as viewed GIFs, search queries, favorite collections, and settings preferences—to tailor your experience.

3. How We Use Your Data

Your information is utilized for specific, legitimate purposes to enhance our service and your interaction with it:

• To operate, maintain, and secure the MetArt GIF platform and its features.
• To personalize your experience by recommending content aligned with your interests.
• To communicate with you regarding service updates, security alerts, and (if consented) promotional materials.
• To analyze site performance and user behavior, enabling us to improve functionality, design, and content curation.
• To enforce our Terms of Service, prevent fraud, and comply with legal obligations.

We process your data based on your consent, the necessity to fulfill our contractual obligations to you, our legitimate business interests, and compliance with legal requirements.

4. Sharing Data with Third Parties

We value your trust and do not sell your personal data. We may share information in the following limited circumstances:

• Service Providers: Trusted third-party vendors who assist with hosting, analytics, payment processing, email delivery, and customer support. These partners are contractually bound to handle data securely and only for the purposes we specify.
• Legal Compliance & Protection: We may disclose data if required by law, subpoena, or legal process, or to protect the rights, property, or safety of MetArt GIF, our users, or the public.
• Business Transfers: In the event of a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets, user information may be transferred as part of the transaction. Affected users will be notified via email and/or a prominent site notice.
• Aggregated & Anonymized Data: We may share statistical or demographic information that does not identify any individual user for research, marketing, or business purposes.

5. Data Protection & Security

We implement robust technical and organizational measures to protect your personal data from unauthorized access, alteration, disclosure, or destruction. Our security measures include:

• Encryption of data in transit using SSL/TLS protocols.
• Secure server infrastructure with regular security assessments and monitoring.
• Access controls limiting data access to authorized personnel only.
• Regular review and updating of our security practices to address evolving threats.

While we strive to use commercially acceptable means to protect your data, please note that no method of electronic transmission or storage is 100% secure. We encourage you to use strong passwords and keep your login credentials confidential.

6. Your Privacy Rights

Depending on your location, you may have certain rights regarding your personal data. These may include:

• Right to Access: Request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
• Right to Rectification: Request correction of inaccurate or incomplete data.
• Right to Erasure ("Right to be Forgotten"): Request deletion of your personal data under certain conditions.
• Right to Restrict Processing: Request limitation on how we process your data.
• Right to Data Portability: Receive your data in a structured, machine-readable format.
• Right to Object: Object to processing based on legitimate interests or for direct marketing.
• Withdraw Consent: Where processing is based on consent, you may withdraw it at any time.

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us using the information in the "Contact" section below. We will respond to your request within a reasonable timeframe and in accordance with applicable law.

7. Cookies & Tracking Technologies

We use cookies and similar tracking technologies (like web beacons and pixels) to enhance functionality, analyze trends, and understand user engagement.

• Essential Cookies: Necessary for core site functionality (e.g., login sessions, security). These cannot be disabled.
• Analytics Cookies: Help us understand how visitors interact with the site, allowing us to improve content and layout. We may use third-party services like Google Analytics (with anonymized IP).
• Preference Cookies: Remember your settings (e.g., theme, language) for future visits.
• Advertising Cookies: Used to deliver relevant advertisements and measure campaign effectiveness (if applicable).

You can manage your cookie preferences through your browser settings. Note that disabling certain cookies may affect the functionality and performance of our website.

8. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy periodically to reflect changes in our practices, services, or legal requirements. The "Last Updated" date at the bottom of this page will indicate the most recent revision. We encourage you to review this page occasionally to stay informed.

Material changes that affect your rights will be communicated through a prominent notice on our website or via email (if you have an account) prior to the change becoming effective. Your continued use of the MetArt GIF platform after any modification constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

9. Contact Information

If you have any questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or our data practices, please do not hesitate to reach out to our dedicated privacy team.

Data Protection Contact: Privacy Officer
Email: [email protected]
Mailing Address: MetArt GIF Network, Data Protection Inquiry, [Virtual Office Address for Correspondence].

We are committed to working with you to resolve any issues promptly and transparently.