LessonHome, Inc. d/b/a Forte (
“Forte,” “we,” “our,” or
“us”) is committed to protecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and otherwise process personal information in connection with our Service. This Privacy Policy applies to our Forte website,
https://wp.fortelessons.com/, our mobile apps and any other online service that posts or links to this Privacy Policy now or in the future (collectively, our “
Service”). By accessing or using our Service, you signify that you have read, understood, and agree to our collection, storage, use, and disclosure of your personal information as described in this Privacy Policy and our Terms of Service
https://wp.fortelessons.com/privacy-policy. The Service is a web-based communications platform which enables connections between Students and Teachers. “
Students” are individuals seeking to obtain music lessons (“
Lessons”) from Teachers and are therefore students of Teachers, and “
Teachers” are businesses or individuals seeking to provide music Lessons to Students. Students and Teachers together are hereinafter referred to as “
users” or “
you.” For the purposes of EU data protection laws (“
Data Protection Law”), Forte is data controller (i.e., the company who is responsible for, and controls the processing of, your personal data).
1. WHAT INFORMATION DO WE COLLECT AND FOR WHAT PURPOSE?
The categories of information we collect can include: •
Information you provide to us directly. We may collect personal information from Students and Teachers as set forth below. We may also collect any communications between you and Forte and any other information you provide to Forte. o
From Students: We may collect your name, email address, age, instrument, location (city, state) and payment information when you register for our Service, engage in a transaction on the Service, sign up for our mailing list, or otherwise communicate with us. If your parent or guardian signs up on your behalf for the Service, we may collect your parent’s name and email address as well as information about you (e.g., Student name, email address, age, instrument and location (city, state). o
From Teachers: We may collect your name, phone number, payment information, email address and your professional background and credentials when you register for our Service, sign up for our mailing list, engage in a transaction on the Service, or otherwise communicate with us. •
Recorded Lessons.When you participate in Lessons, we collect and store the audio and video recording of the Lessons. We use this information to provide you with the Service and share such Recordings as set forth in this Privacy Policy below. •
Data collected through your use of the Service.We collect information about how you use the Service, your actions on the Service, and content you post to the Service or provide through in-app messages, chat, or other functionality (“
User Content”). Please remember that Forte may, but has no obligation to, monitor, record, and store User Content in order to protect your safety or the safety of other users, to assist with regulatory or law enforcement efforts, or to protect and defend our rights and property. By using the Service, you consent to the recording, storage, and disclosure of such communications you send or receive for these purposes. •
Information we receive from third-party sites you connect to our Service. We may receive personal information about you from third parties and combine that with information we collect through our Service. For example, when you interact with us through a social media site or third-party service, such as when you like, follow, or share Forte content on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, or other sites, we may receive information from the social network, including your profile information, picture, user ID associated with your social media account, and any other information you permit the social network to share with third parties. The data we receive from these third-party sites is dependent upon that third party’s policies and your privacy settings on that third-party site. You should always review and, if necessary, adjust your privacy settings on third-party websites and services before linking or connecting them to our website or Service. •
Information we receive from third parties. From time to time, we may receive information about you from third parties and other users. For example, if you’re a Student who signs up for the Service through a school, the school may share with us your name, email address, age, instrument and location (city/state). We may also collect information about you that is publicly available. •
Usage and device information collected automatically through tracking technologies.To provide a personalized and high-quality experience for our users, we, and our third-party partners, may use various technologies that automatically record certain technical information from your browser or device when you visit our website, read our e-mails, use our Service, or otherwise engage with us. This information is typically collected through a variety of tracking technologies, including cookies, web beacons, embedded scripts, location-identifying technologies, file information, and similar technology (collectively, “
Tracking Technologies”). We, and our third-party partners, use these Tracking Technologies to automatically collect usage and device information, such as: o Your IP address, browser type, Internet service provider, platform type, device type, operating system, date and time stamp, a unique ID that allows us to uniquely identify your browser, mobile device or your account, and other such information. o We also collect information about the way you use our Service, for example, the site from which you came and the site to which you are going when you leave our website, the pages you visit, the links you click, how frequently you access the Services, whether you open e-mails or click the links contained in e-mails, whether you access the Services from multiple devices, and other actions you take on the Services. o When you access our Service from a mobile device, we may collect unique identification numbers associated with your device or our mobile application, mobile carrier, device type, model and manufacturer, mobile device operating system brand and model, phone number and, depending on your mobile device settings, your geographical location data, including GPS coordinates (e.g., latitude and/or longitude) or similar information regarding the location of your mobile device, or we may be able to approximate a device’s location by analyzing other information, like an IP address. We may collect analytics data, or use third-party analytics tools such as Google Analytics, to help us measure traffic and usage trends for the Services and to understand more about our users by monitoring aggregate metrics such as total number of visitors, traffic, usage, and demographic patterns on our website. You can learn more about Google’s practices at
http://www.google.com/policies/privacy/partners and view its currently available opt-out options at
https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout . If you would prefer not to accept cookies, most browsers will allow you to (i) change your browser settings to notify you when you receive a cookie, which lets you choose whether or not to accept it; (ii) disable existing cookies; or (iii) set your browser to automatically reject cookies. Please note that not accepting cookies may negatively impact your experience using the Service, as some features and services on our Service may not work properly. Depending on your mobile device and operating system, you may not be able to delete or block all cookies and you may not be able to block non-cookie technologies and these browser settings that block cookies may have no effect on such techniques. You may also set your e-mail options to prevent the automatic downloading of images that may contain technologies that would allow us to know whether you have accessed our e-mail and performed certain functions with it.
2. HOW WE USE YOUR INFORMATION
We use the information we collect for purposes described in this Privacy Policy or as otherwise disclosed to you on our Service or in connection with our Service. For example, we use your information to: • Create and process your account and deliver the Service and Lessons to you, including fulfilling any requests you make on the Service; • Send you transactional information, including confirmations, invoices, technical notices, product and services information, updates, security alerts, support and administrative messages, and information about your transaction with us; • Communicate with you such as to respond to your comments and questions, provide customer service or feedback, or respond to employment opportunities for which you’ve applied, of for any other purposes in connection with the Service; • Facilitate new contests, promotions and rewards and provide you with news about products and services offered by us and our selected partners; • Use for our internal business purposes, such as data analysis, customer research, audits, fraud prevention, developing new products and/or features, enhancing and improving the Service, identifying usage trends, and determining the effectiveness of our campaigns; • Operate, maintain, test, enhance, update, monitor, diagnose, fix and improve our Service; • Maintain the safety, security, and integrity of our Service, technology assets, and business; • Prevent, investigate or provide notice of fraud or unlawful or criminal activity and enforce and carry out contracts and agreements; and • Respond to law enforcement requests and as required by applicable law, court order, or governmental regulations and enforce our corporate reporting obligations and our Terms of Service, or to comply with applicable laws and legal obligations.
3. SHARING OF YOUR INFORMATION
We may share your personal information in the instances described below. For further information on your choices regarding your information, see the “Control Over Your Information” section below. Remember, our Service allows you to connect and interact with Students and/or Teachers.
If you are a Student, your profile information, including your name, email address, age, location (city/state), instrument, and other personal information, will be visible to the Teachers with whom you connect on the Service and in Lessons by default when you create a profile and interact with Teachers through Lessons or otherwise on the Service. We may share your personal information with: • Teachers/Students with whom you connect on the Service. Your profile information and content you post to the Service will be visible to other Users on the Service, as further explained below. Please do not provide personal information or content to Teachers, Students or through Lessons that you would not want to be public. You may be able to control the visibility of some of your information and actions in your Settings (see “Control Over Your Information” below). o
For Students: When you connect with Teachers on the Service for a Lesson, we share your name, instrument, profile photos/videos, skill level, and all other information you include on your user profile with those Teachers. In addition, Forte will share your recorded Lessons (audio and video) with Teachers. Teachers will use this information so that they may provide you with the Lessons and otherwise communicate with you relating to the Service. o
For Teachers: We share your name, instrument, professional background and credentials, and all other information you include on your user profile with Students and, if applicable, their parents/guardians. In addition, Forte will share your recorded Lessons (audio and video) with Students. • Your Teacher’s music institute. We may share your recorded Lessons (audio and video) with music institutes with which Students’ Teachers are affiliated. These institutes will use such information to evaluate their Teachers and the Service. • Third parties at your request. For example, you may have the option to share your activities on the Service with your friends through email, text, or on various social media sites; • Other companies and brands owned or controlled by LessonHome, Inc. and other companies owned by or under common ownership as LessonHome Inc., which also includes our subsidiaries (i.e., any organization we own or control) or our ultimate holding company (i.e., any organization that owns or controls us) and any subsidiaries it owns. These companies will use your personal information in the same way as we can under this Privacy Policy; • Third-party vendors and other service providers that perform services on our behalf, as needed to carry out their work for us, which may include providing mailing services, providing tax and accounting services, contest fulfilment, web hosting, or providing analytic services; • The public when you provide feedback on our Service. For example, if you post User Content on our blog or comment on our social media sites, your information, such as your first name, last initial, state of residence, and your comments, may be displayed on our Service or on our social media pages; • Other parties in connection with a company transaction, such as a merger, sale of company assets or shares, reorganization, financing, change of control or acquisition of all or a portion of our business by another company or third party, or in the event of a bankruptcy or related or similar proceedings; and • Third parties as required by law or subpoena or if we reasonably believe that such action is necessary to (a) comply with the law and the reasonable requests of law enforcement; (b) to enforce our Terms of Service, or to protect the security or integrity of our Service; and/or (c) to exercise or protect the rights, property, or personal safety of Forte, our visitors, or others. We may also share information with others in an aggregated or otherwise anonymized form that does not reasonably identify you directly as an individual.
4. LEGAL BASIS FOR PROCESSING IN THE EU
In the EU, the purposes for which we process your personal data are: 1) the provision of personal data by you may be necessary for the performance of any contractual relationship we have with you; 2) where it is necessary for compliance with our legal obligations laid down by EU law; 3) where in our legitimate interests (provided these are not overridden by your interests and fundamental rights and freedoms - this includes our own legitimate interests and those of other entities and branches in our group of companies) such as: a) to contact you and respond to your requests and enquiries; b) for business administration, including statistical analysis; c) to provide the Services to you; and d) for fraud prevention and detection; and e) to comply with applicable laws, regulations or codes of practices. We may also process your personal data on the basis of your freely given, specific, informed and unambiguous consent. You should be aware that you are entitled under Data Protection Law to withdraw your consent where that has been given, at any time. If you do this and we have no alternative lawful reason to process your personal data, this may affect our ability to provide you with rights to use the Services.
5. CONTROL OVER YOUR INFORMATION
Profile and Data Sharing Settings. You may update your profile information, such as your name and instrument, and may change some of your data sharing preferences on your personal profile page.
How to control your communications preferences. You can stop receiving promotional email communications from us by clicking on the “unsubscribe link” provided in such communications. We make every effort to promptly process all unsubscribe requests. You may not opt out of service-related communications (e.g., account verification, transactional communications, changes/updates to features of the Service, technical and security notices).
Certain rights. If you have any questions about reviewing, modifying, or deleting your information, or if you want to remove your name or comments from our Service or publicly displayed content, you can contact us directly at
help@fortelessons.com. We may not be able to modify or delete your information in all circumstances.
6. HOW WE STORE AND PROTECT YOUR INFORMATION
Data storage and transfer: Your information collected through our website may be stored and processed in the United States or any other country in which Forte or its affiliates or service providers maintain facilities. If you are located in the European Union or other regions with laws governing data collection and use that may differ from U.S. law, please note that we may transfer information, including personal information, to a country and jurisdiction that does not have the same data protection laws as your jurisdiction, and we will take all steps reasonably necessary to ensure that any personal data are treated securely and in accordance with this Privacy Policy. Such transfers are made pursuant to appropriate safeguards. If you wish to enquire further about these transfers, please contact us using the details set out at the end of this Privacy Policy.
Data retention: We will retain your personal information only for as long as reasonably necessary to maintain the Service, to meet legal and accounting obligations, and for the purposes described in this Privacy Policy. To determine the appropriate retention period for personal information, we consider the amount, nature, and sensitivity of the personal information, the potential risk of harm from unauthorized use or disclosure of your personal information, the purposes for which we process your personal information and the applicable legal requirements. We may anonymize and/or aggregate personal information and store it in order to analyze aggregate metrics and trends. For individuals based in the EU or Switzerland, we store personal data for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes for which we collect the data (see above under “
What Information Do We Collect And For What Purpose?”), except if required otherwise by law.
7. CHILDREN’S PRIVACY
Forte does not knowingly collect or solicit any information from anyone under the age of 13 on this Service without the consent of a parent or guardian, and the Service is intended to be used by children under 13 only with parental involvement and approval. In the event that we learn that we have inadvertently collected personal information from a child under age 13, we will delete that information as quickly as possible. If you believe that we might have any information from a child under 13, please contact us at
help@fortelessons.com.
8. LINKS TO OTHER WEB SITES AND SERVICES
The Service may contain links to and from third-party websites of our business partners, advertisers, and social media sites and our users may post links to third-party websites. If you follow a link to any of these websites, please note that these websites have their own privacy policies and that we do not accept any responsibility or liability for their policies. We strongly recommend that you read their privacy policies and terms and conditions of use to understand how they collect, use, and share information. We are not responsible for the privacy practices or the content on the websites of third-party sites.
9. REGION-SPECIFIC DISCLOSURES
If you are a resident of the State of Nevada in the U.S., Chapter 603A of the Nevada Revised Statutes permits a Nevada resident to opt out of future sales of certain covered information that a website operator has collected or will collect about the resident. We do not sell your covered information, as defined by Chapter 603A of the Nevada Revised Statutes. If you reside in Nevada, you have the right to submit a request to
help@fortelessons.comto opt out of the sale of covered information. Please include “Nevada Rights Request” in the subject line.
10. FOR RESIDENTS IN THE EU AND SWITZERLAND
If you are located in the EU, the UK or Switzerland, you have the following rights in respect of your personal data that we hold: a.
Right to object. You have a right to object to any processing based on our legitimate interests where there are grounds relating to your particular situation. You can object to marketing activities for any reason whatsoever. b.
Right of access. The right to obtain access to your personal data. c.
Right to rectification. The right to obtain rectification of your personal data without undue delay where that personal data is inaccurate or incomplete. d.
Right to erasure. The right to obtain the erasure of your personal data without undue delay in certain circumstances, such as where the personal data is no longer necessary in relation to the purposes for which it was collected or processed. e.
Right to restriction. The right to obtain the restriction of the processing undertaken by us on your personal data in certain circumstances, such as where the accuracy of the personal data is contested by you, for a period enabling us to verify the accuracy of that personal data. f.
Right to portability. The right to portability allows you to move, copy or transfer personal data easily from one organization to another. If you wish to exercise one of these rights, please contact us using the contact details at the end of this Privacy Policy. You also have the right to lodge a complaint to your local data protection authority. Further information about how to contact your local data protection authority is available at
http://ec.europa.eu/justice/data-protection/bodies/authorities/index_en.htm. We may transfer personal data about you outside the EU, Switzerland and the UK, and when we do so, we rely on appropriate or suitable safeguards recognized under the European Union General Data Protection Regulation including adequacy decisions and the standard contractual clauses.
11. HOW TO CONTACT US
If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or the Service, please contact us at
help@fortelessons.com or Forte, c/o The Greatest Works Agency, 401 Park Avenue South, 10th floor, New York, NY 10016.
12. CHANGES TO OUR PRIVACY POLICY
We will update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we make changes to this Privacy Policy, we will change the “Last Updated” date at the top of this Privacy Policy. If we make material changes to this Privacy Policy, we will notify you by email to your registered email address, by prominent posting on this website or our online services, or through other appropriate communication channels. All changes shall be effective from the date of publication unless otherwise provided.
Last Updated: February 12, 2021
