1. Information We Collect
1.1 Information You Provide Directly
We collect information you provide when you:
- Contact us: information submitted through our contact forms, partnership inquiries, or direct emails including name, company, email address, phone number, and message content
- Subscribe to our newsletter or insights: email address and communication preferences
- Apply for positions: resume, work history, and other application materials
- Enter into partnership or pilot agreements: business information, technical specifications, and contact details
1.2 Information Collected Automatically
When you visit our website, we automatically collect certain information:
- Log data: IP address, browser type and version, pages visited, time and date of visits, time spent on pages, referring URLs
- Device information: device type, operating system, unique device identifiers
- Cookies and tracking technologies: as described in our Cookie Policy
- Usage data: how you navigate and interact with our website
1.3 Information from Third Parties
We may receive information about you from:
- Analytics providers who help us understand website usage
- Marketing and outreach platforms used for investor and partner communications
- Publicly available sources such as LinkedIn for business contact information
2. How We Use Your Information
2.1 Business Operations
- Responding to inquiries, partnership requests, and investor communications
- Evaluating and processing job applications
- Managing pilot program and partnership agreements
- Conducting due diligence for potential business relationships
2.2 Communications
- Sending technical updates, research publications, and company news to subscribers
- Sending investor and partner communications
- Responding to questions and support requests
- Sending notifications about events, conferences, and speaking engagements
2.3 Website and Service Improvement
- Analyzing website usage to improve content and user experience
- Monitoring for technical issues and security incidents
- Developing new content and features based on visitor interests
2.4 Legal and Compliance
- Complying with applicable laws, regulations, and legal processes
- Protecting our intellectual property rights
- Enforcing our terms and agreements
3. How We Share Your Information
We do not sell your personal information. We may share your information in limited circumstances:
- Service providers: Vendors providing hosting, analytics, email, CRM, and other operational services, under contractual confidentiality obligations
- Investors and board members: Aggregate analytics and business metrics in accordance with our investor reporting obligations
- Professional advisors: Legal, financial, and technical advisors under professional confidentiality obligations
- Business transfers: In connection with a merger, acquisition, or asset sale, with notice provided as required by law
- Legal requirements: When required by law, court order, or government authority
- With your consent: For any other purpose with your explicit consent
4. Data Retention
We retain your personal information as follows:
- Contact and inquiry data: 3 years from last contact, unless a business relationship is established
- Newsletter subscribers: Until unsubscribe request or 2 years of inactivity
- Job applicants: 2 years from application date, or as required by employment law
- Partner and pilot program data: Duration of relationship plus 7 years for legal and financial compliance
- Website analytics: 24 months of rolling data
5. Your Privacy Rights
You have the right to access, correct, or delete your personal information held by Lithios. You may also opt out of marketing communications at any time. California residents have additional rights under the CCPA/CPRA, including rights to know, delete, correct, and opt out of sale. EEA, UK, and Swiss residents have rights under GDPR including access, rectification, erasure, restriction, portability, and objection.
To exercise any of these rights, contact us at privacy@lithios.org. We will respond within 30 days (or the timeframe required by applicable law).
6. Data Security
We implement appropriate technical and organizational security measures to protect your personal information, including encryption of data in transit and at rest, access controls, and regular security reviews. As a technology company handling sensitive technical information, we take security seriously — but no system is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute protection.
7. International Data Transfers
Lithios is headquartered in Houston, TX, USA. If you access our services from outside the United States, your information may be transferred to and processed in the US. We take appropriate steps to ensure such transfers comply with applicable data protection laws.
8. Children's Privacy
Our website and services are not directed to individuals under 16. We do not knowingly collect personal information from minors. If you believe we have inadvertently collected such information, please contact us at privacy@lithios.org.
9. Cookies and Tracking Technologies
We use cookies and similar tracking technologies to operate our website and analytics systems. Our use of cookies is governed by our Cookie Policy, which is incorporated by reference into this Privacy Policy. You can manage your cookie preferences through your browser settings or our cookie consent tool.
We use the following categories of tracking:
- Essential cookies: Required for the website to function, including form submissions and session management
- Analytics cookies: Help us understand how visitors use our website using aggregated, anonymized data
- Marketing cookies: Used to measure the effectiveness of our outreach to potential partners and investors
10. Third-Party Service Providers
We use a limited set of third-party service providers to operate our website and business. Each is subject to data processing agreements and appropriate security controls:
- Web hosting and CDN: Our website is hosted on cloud infrastructure with industry-standard security certifications. We require our hosting providers to maintain SOC 2 Type II compliance or equivalent.
- Analytics: We use Google Analytics with IP anonymization enabled. Data is processed under Google's privacy terms and a data processing addendum.
- Email services: Transactional and marketing emails are processed through GDPR-compliant email service providers with appropriate data processing agreements.
- Customer relationship management (CRM): Contact information for business development and investor relations is managed in CRM systems with access controls and encryption.
- Legal and financial advisors: Our legal counsel and financial advisors may access certain personal data in connection with their services, under professional confidentiality obligations.
We do not authorize any third-party service provider to use your data for their own purposes beyond providing services to Lithios.
11. Do Not Track and Global Privacy Control
Some browsers transmit "Do Not Track" (DNT) signals or "Global Privacy Control" (GPC) signals to websites. Our website currently does not alter its data collection practices in response to DNT signals, as there is no uniform standard for how websites should respond. However, we respect GPC signals where technically feasible and required by applicable law, including under California's CCPA/CPRA framework.
California residents who use a browser or extension that sends a GPC opt-out signal may receive reduced tracking on our website consistent with their signal preference.
12. Automated Decision-Making
We do not use fully automated decision-making processes that produce legal or similarly significant effects on individuals. Our use of analytics is for aggregate website improvement purposes, not individual profiling. If this changes, we will update this policy and provide appropriate notice and choices.
13. Changes to This Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Material changes will be posted on this page with an updated "Last updated" date. For significant changes, we will provide additional notice as required by applicable law.
14. Contact Us