PRIVACY POLICY FOR ADVANTAGE AQUARIUMS

Last Updated: February 2026

At Advantage Aquariums ("we," "our," or "us"), your privacy is important to us. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, store, and protect your personal information when you visit our website, submit a form, communicate with us, or use our services.

By engaging with our website, submitting your information, or receiving our services, you agree to the terms outlined in this policy. If you do not agree, please do not use our website or services.

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1. INFORMATION WE COLLECT ————————————————————————————————

We may collect the following categories of information:

Personal Information: Name, home address, email address, phone number, and other contact details provided when you book a service, request a consultation, download a guide, submit a form, or contact us through any channel.

Service Information: Details about your aquarium system including tank size, tank type (freshwater, saltwater, reef), location within your home or business, equipment in use, livestock inventory, water parameters, and any specific requirements, concerns, or preferences you share with us.

Payment Information: Credit card, debit card, bank account, Zelle, or other payment details required to process transactions for services rendered. We do not store full credit card numbers on our own servers. Payment processing is handled by secure third-party payment processors.

Communication Data: Emails, text messages, phone call records, voicemails, form submissions, chat messages, and any other communications between you and Advantage Aquariums.

Website and Device Data: IP address, browser type, operating system, device type, referring URLs, pages visited, time spent on pages, and other usage data collected automatically when you visit our website. This data is collected through cookies, pixels, and similar tracking technologies (see Section 6).

Lead and Marketing Data: Information submitted through landing pages, lead forms, guide downloads, and evaluation request forms, including name, email, phone number, address, tank type, tank size, service preferences, and responses to survey or quiz questions. This also includes UTM parameters and ad source tracking data that tells us how you found us.

Third-Party Data: We may receive information about you from third-party platforms including but not limited to Meta (Facebook/Instagram), Google Ads, Zapier, Kajabi, and other marketing or CRM tools we use to manage our business.

———————————————————————————————— 2. HOW WE USE YOUR INFORMATION ————————————————————————————————

We use your information for the following purposes:

Service Delivery: To schedule, perform, manage, and follow up on aquarium maintenance, consultations, evaluations, custom installations, and any other services you request.

Customer Communication: To respond to your inquiries, provide service updates, send appointment reminders, deliver reports, and communicate about your account or system.

Billing and Payments: To process payments, send invoices, manage billing disputes, and maintain financial records as required by law.

Marketing and Promotional Communications: To send you guides, educational content, promotional offers, newsletters, and information about our services. You may opt out of marketing communications at any time (see Section 5).

Personalization: To personalize your experience, including delivering content and recommendations tailored to your specific tank type, location, and service needs.

Website Improvement: To analyze website traffic, understand how visitors use our site, improve functionality, and optimize our marketing efforts.

Internal Operations: To maintain service records, train staff, improve service quality, manage scheduling, and operate our business effectively.

Legal Compliance: To comply with applicable laws, regulations, tax requirements, and legal processes, or to respond to lawful requests from public authorities.

Safety and Fraud Prevention: To protect against fraudulent, unauthorized, or illegal activity and to enforce our terms of service.

———————————————————————————————— 3. INFORMATION SHARING AND DISCLOSURE ————————————————————————————————

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

All the above categories exclude text messaging originator opt-in data and consent. This information will not be shared with any third parties under any circumstances.

We may share your information with the following parties only as necessary:

Service Providers and Tools: Third-party vendors and platforms that assist in delivering our services and operating our business. These include but are not limited to payment processors (Stripe, Square, etc.), scheduling software, email marketing platforms, CRM systems (Kajabi, etc.), automation tools (Zapier, etc.), website hosting providers, and analytics platforms (Google Analytics, Meta Pixel, etc.). These providers are contractually obligated to use your information only for the purposes we specify.

Advertising Platforms: We use Meta (Facebook/Instagram) and Google advertising platforms which may receive limited data (such as email, phone number, or website activity) for the purpose of delivering and measuring ad performance, creating custom audiences, and serving relevant ads. You can manage your ad preferences directly through those platforms.

Legal Requirements: If required by law, regulation, subpoena, court order, or other legal process, we may disclose your information to appropriate authorities. We may also disclose information if we believe in good faith that disclosure is necessary to protect our rights, your safety, or the safety of others.

Business Transfers: In the event of a merger, acquisition, sale of assets, or business restructuring, your information may be transferred as part of that transaction. We will notify you of any such change in ownership or control of your personal information.

With Your Consent: We may share your information with other parties when you have given us your explicit consent to do so.

———————————————————————————————— 4. DATA RETENTION ————————————————————————————————

We retain your personal information only for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes described in this policy, unless a longer retention period is required or permitted by law.

General guidelines for retention:

• Client service records: Retained for the duration of the client relationship and for 3 years after the last service visit.
• Payment and billing records: Retained for 7 years as required by tax and financial regulations.
• Marketing and lead data: Retained until you opt out or request deletion, or for 2 years after your last interaction with us, whichever comes first.
• Website analytics data: Retained according to the default retention settings of the analytics platform in use (typically 14 to 26 months).
• Communications (emails, texts): Retained for the duration of the client relationship and for 1 year after the last service visit.

When information is no longer needed, we will delete or anonymize it in a reasonable timeframe using commercially appropriate methods.

———————————————————————————————— 5. YOUR RIGHTS ————————————————————————————————

You have the following rights regarding your personal information:

Right to Know and Access: You may request a copy of the personal information we have collected about you, the categories of sources from which it was collected, the purposes for which it was collected, and the categories of third parties with whom it was shared.

Right to Correction: You may request corrections to any inaccurate or incomplete personal information we hold about you.

Right to Deletion: You may request deletion of your personal information, subject to certain legal exceptions (such as information we are required to retain for tax or legal compliance purposes).

Right to Opt Out of Marketing: You may opt out of marketing emails at any time by clicking the unsubscribe link in any email, replying STOP to any marketing text message, or contacting us directly. Opting out of marketing communications does not affect service-related communications (such as appointment reminders or invoices).

Right to Opt Out of Sale or Sharing: Under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), you have the right to opt out of the "sale" or "sharing" of your personal information. While we do not sell your data in the traditional sense, the use of certain advertising technologies (such as Meta Pixel or Google Analytics) may constitute "sharing" under CCPA. You may opt out by contacting us directly.

Right to Non-Discrimination: We will not discriminate against you for exercising any of your privacy rights. You will not receive different pricing, quality, or level of service for making a privacy request.

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us using the information in Section 12 below. We will respond to verifiable requests within 45 calendar days as required by California law.

———————————————————————————————— 6. COOKIES, PIXELS, AND TRACKING TECHNOLOGIES ————————————————————————————————

Our website uses cookies, tracking pixels, and similar technologies to collect data about your browsing behavior. These include:

Essential Cookies: Required for basic website functionality such as page navigation, form submissions, and security. These cannot be disabled.

Analytics Cookies: Used to understand how visitors interact with our website, which pages are most popular, and how users navigate through the site. We use Google Analytics for this purpose.

Advertising Pixels: We use the Meta Pixel (Facebook/Instagram) and Google Ads conversion tracking to measure the effectiveness of our advertising campaigns, build custom audiences for ad targeting, and serve relevant ads to people who have visited our website.

These technologies may collect your IP address, browser information, pages visited, time spent on site, and actions taken (such as form submissions or button clicks).

You can manage cookie preferences through your browser settings. Please note that disabling certain cookies may affect website functionality. You can also opt out of interest-based advertising through the Digital Advertising Alliance (optout.aboutads.info) or the Network Advertising Initiative (optout.networkadvertising.org).

———————————————————————————————— 7. CALIFORNIA CONSUMER PRIVACY ACT (CCPA) DISCLOSURE ————————————————————————————————

If you are a California resident, you have additional rights under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and the California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA).

Categories of Personal Information Collected in the Past 12 Months:

• Identifiers (name, email, phone, address)
• Commercial information (services purchased, payment history)
• Internet or electronic network activity (website browsing, ad interactions)
• Geolocation data (general location based on IP address)
• Professional or employment-related information (only if voluntarily provided)
• Inferences drawn from the above (such as service preferences or tank type)

Categories of Personal Information Sold or Shared: We do not sell personal information. We may "share" identifiers and internet activity data with advertising platforms (Meta, Google) for targeted advertising purposes as defined under CCPA. You may opt out of this sharing at any time.

To submit a CCPA request (access, deletion, or opt-out), contact us using the information in Section 12. We may need to verify your identity before processing your request.

You may also designate an authorized agent to make a request on your behalf. The authorized agent must provide written authorization signed by you.

———————————————————————————————— 8. TEXT MESSAGE AND SMS POLICY ————————————————————————————————

By providing your phone number and opting in to receive text messages from Advantage Aquariums, you consent to receive service-related and, where separately consented, marketing text messages.

Message frequency varies. Message and data rates may apply depending on your mobile carrier and plan.

You may opt out of text messages at any time by replying STOP to any message. After opting out, you will receive a confirmation message and no further texts will be sent unless you re-subscribe.

Text messaging opt-in data and consent are never shared with third parties for their own marketing purposes. This applies to all categories of data described in this policy.

For help with text messaging, reply HELP to any message or contact us at the information provided in Section 12.

———————————————————————————————— 9. THIRD-PARTY LINKS ————————————————————————————————

Our website may contain links to third-party websites, services, or platforms. We are not responsible for the privacy practices, content, or security of any third-party sites. We encourage you to review the privacy policies of any third-party site before providing your personal information.

———————————————————————————————— 10. DATA SECURITY ————————————————————————————————

We implement reasonable administrative, technical, and physical security measures to protect your personal information from unauthorized access, use, alteration, or disclosure.

These measures include but are not limited to:

• Encrypted payment processing through PCI-compliant third-party processors
• Secure (HTTPS) website connections
• Password-protected accounts and systems
• Limited employee access to personal information on a need-to-know basis
• Regular review of data collection, storage, and processing practices

However, no method of data transmission over the internet or electronic storage is 100% secure. While we strive to protect your information, we cannot guarantee absolute security. You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of any account credentials or access information you use to interact with our services.

———————————————————————————————— 11. CHILDREN'S PRIVACY ————————————————————————————————

Our services and website are not intended for individuals under the age of 18. We do not knowingly collect personal information from minors. If we learn that we have collected information from someone under 18, we will take steps to delete that information promptly.

If you are a parent or guardian and believe your child has provided us with personal information, please contact us immediately using the information in Section 12.

———————————————————————————————— 12. CONTACT US ————————————————————————————————

If you have any questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy, your personal information, or your privacy rights, please contact us at:

Advantage Aquariums Phone: (562) 317-7545 Email: [email protected] Web: www.advantageaquariums.com Service Area: Los Angeles County and Orange County, California

For CCPA-specific requests, please include "CCPA Request" in the subject line of your email.

———————————————————————————————— 13. CHANGES TO THIS POLICY ————————————————————————————————

We reserve the right to modify this Privacy Policy at any time. Any changes will be posted on our website with an updated "Last Updated" date at the top of this page.

For material changes that significantly affect how we handle your personal information, we will make reasonable efforts to notify you via email or prominent notice on our website.

We encourage you to review this policy periodically. Continued use of our website or services after changes are posted constitutes acceptance of the revised policy.

Copyright 2026 Advantage Aquariums. All Rights Reserved.