PRIVACY POLICY

Last Updated: July 2026

This Privacy Policy describes how GEM+I LLC ("the Company," "We," "Us," or "Our"), operating as Samantha Berendt, collects, uses, and protects your information when you use www.samanthaberendt.com (the "Website") and our services, including intuitive readings, energy healing sessions, workshops, meditation classes, and certification programs (together, the "Services").

By using the Website or Services, you agree to the collection and use of information in accordance with this Privacy Policy. If you do not agree, please do not use the Website or Services.

WHO WE ARE

GEM+I LLC is a limited liability company based in California, United States. For the purposes of the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the UK GDPR, the Company is the Data Controller. You can contact us at hello@samanthaberendt.com. Our mailing address is available upon request.

INFORMATION WE COLLECT

Information you provide directly:

- Contact information: name, email address, and phone number when you book a session, purchase a workshop or certification, sign up for our newsletter, or contact us.

- Booking and scheduling information: appointment dates, session types, time zone, and any information you choose to include when booking.

- Session and intake information: information you voluntarily share before, during, or after a session, class, or certification program. Because of the nature of our work, this may include information about your health, emotional wellbeing, relationships, life circumstances, or spiritual practice. See "Sensitive Information & Session Confidentiality" below.

- Payment information: processed directly by our third-party payment processors. We do not store or collect your payment card details.

- Communications: emails, messages, and correspondence you send us.

- Testimonials: feedback you provide about our Services, published only with your consent (see "Testimonials" below).

Information collected automatically (Usage Data):

When you visit the Website, we and our service providers automatically collect information such as your IP address, browser type and version, device type, operating system, pages visited, time and date of visit, time spent on pages, referring URLs, and other diagnostic data. This information is collected through cookies and similar technologies (see "Cookies & Tracking Technologies" below).

SENSITIVE INFORMATION & SESSION CONFIDENTIALITY

Intuitive readings, energy healing, and spiritual teaching are deeply personal. During sessions and classes, you may choose to share information about your physical or emotional health, relationships, family, beliefs, or other private matters.

- Information shared in individual sessions is treated as confidential. We do not sell it, share it for marketing purposes, or disclose it to third parties except as required by law or with your explicit consent.

- Any session notes we keep are used solely to provide continuity of care across your sessions and are retained only as long as reasonably necessary for that purpose. You may request their deletion at any time.

- Sharing sensitive information is always voluntary. You are never required to disclose health, religious, or other special-category information to receive our Services.

- Where GDPR applies, we process any special-category data you choose to share on the basis of your explicit consent, which you may withdraw at any time.

Group settings and recordings: Workshops, classes, and certification cohorts (including Intuition Mastery) are group experiences and may be recorded so that recordings can be shared with enrolled participants. By participating with your camera, microphone, or chat active, you consent to appearing in these recordings. Recordings are shared only with enrolled participants and are not made public without separate consent. If you prefer not to appear, you may keep your camera and microphone off. Please be mindful that anything you share in a group setting is visible to other participants; we ask all participants to respect one another's confidentiality, but we cannot guarantee the conduct of other attendees.

HOW WE USE YOUR INFORMATION

We use your personal data to:

- Provide, maintain, and improve the Website and Services;

- Schedule, confirm, and deliver sessions, workshops, classes, and certification programs;

- Process payments and fulfill purchases;

- Manage your account, registrations, and enrollment;

- Communicate with you about your bookings, purchases, and requests;

- Send you our newsletter, free resources, and information about offerings similar to those you have purchased or inquired about — only where you have opted in or where permitted by law, and always with the ability to unsubscribe;

- Monitor and analyze Website usage to improve functionality and content;

- Comply with legal obligations and protect our legal rights.

COOKIES & TRACKING TECHNOLOGIES

We use cookies and similar technologies to operate the Website and understand how it is used. You can instruct your browser to refuse all cookies or to indicate when a cookie is being sent; however, some parts of the Website may not function properly without them.

- Necessary / Essential Cookies (Session; administered by us and our Website platform): required to provide the Website, process purchases, maintain your cart, and enable core features.

- Functionality Cookies (Persistent; administered by us): remember your choices and preferences to provide a more personal experience.

- Analytics / Performance Cookies (Persistent; administered by third parties): help us understand Website traffic and how visitors use the Website. This information is typically linked to a pseudonymous identifier associated with your device.

SERVICE PROVIDERS

We work with third-party service providers who process personal data on our behalf and are permitted to use it only to perform services for us:

- Website hosting and e-commerce: the Website is built on Squarespace, which hosts the Website, processes form submissions and purchases, and provides commerce and email functionality. Squarespace's privacy policy is available at https://www.squarespace.com/privacy.

- Scheduling: appointment booking may be handled through scheduling software that collects your name, email, appointment details, and time zone.

- Payment processing: payments are processed by third-party payment processors (which may include Squarespace Payments, Stripe, PayPal, and Venmo). We never see or store your full card details. These processors adhere to PCI-DSS standards. Their privacy policies: Stripe (https://stripe.com/privacy), PayPal (https://www.paypal.com/webapps/mpp/ua/privacy-full), Venmo (https://venmo.com/legal/us-privacy-policy/).

- Video conferencing: virtual sessions and classes may be conducted through video platforms such as Zoom, which process your name, email, and audio/video during meetings.

- Email and marketing: newsletter delivery and email communications may be handled by email service providers that store your email address and track email opens and clicks.

- Analytics: we may use Google Analytics to understand Website traffic. You can opt out by installing the Google Analytics opt-out browser add-on. Google's privacy policy: https://policies.google.com/privacy.

HOW WE SHARE YOUR INFORMATION

We do not sell your personal information. We may share it only:

- With Service Providers listed above, to operate the Website and deliver the Services;

- For legal reasons: if required by law, court order, or valid governmental request, or where disclosure is necessary in good faith to comply with a legal obligation, protect our rights or property, prevent wrongdoing, protect the safety of users or the public, or defend against legal liability;

- In a business transfer: if the Company is involved in a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets, your data may be transferred; we will provide notice before your data becomes subject to a different privacy policy;

- With your consent: for any other purpose, only with your permission.

DATA RETENTION

We retain personal data only as long as necessary for the purposes described in this Policy, including to comply with legal, tax, and accounting obligations, resolve disputes, and enforce our agreements. Session notes are retained only as long as reasonably necessary to provide continuity of care. Usage data is generally retained for shorter periods unless used for security or legally required to be kept longer. You may request deletion of your data at any time (see "Your Rights" below).

DATA SECURITY

We use commercially reasonable measures to protect your personal data. However, no method of transmission over the Internet or electronic storage is 100% secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

INTERNATIONAL DATA TRANSFERS

Your information is processed in the United States and wherever our service providers operate. If you access the Website from outside the United States (including the EU or UK), your data will be transferred to and processed in the United States, where data protection laws may differ from those in your jurisdiction. Where required, we and our service providers rely on appropriate safeguards, such as standard contractual clauses, for such transfers.

YOUR RIGHTS UNDER THE GDPR AND UK GDPR

If you are in the European Economic Area or the United Kingdom, we process your personal data on the following legal bases: your consent; performance of a contract with you; compliance with legal obligations; and our legitimate interests in operating and improving the Website and Services.

You have the right to:

- Access the personal data we hold about you and receive a copy;

- Correct incomplete or inaccurate data;

- Erase your personal data where there is no good reason for us to continue processing it;

- Restrict or object to processing, including any processing for direct marketing;

- Data portability: receive your data in a structured, commonly used, machine-readable format;

- Withdraw consent at any time, without affecting the lawfulness of processing before withdrawal;

- Complain to your local data protection authority.

To exercise any of these rights, email us at hello@samanthaberendt.com. We may ask you to verify your identity before responding.

YOUR CALIFORNIA PRIVACY RIGHTS (CCPA/CPRA)

If you are a California resident, you have the right to:

- Know what categories of personal information we collect, the sources, the purposes, and the categories of third parties with whom we share it, as well as the specific pieces of personal information we hold about you;

- Delete personal information we have collected from you, subject to certain exceptions;

- Correct inaccurate personal information;

- Opt out of the sale or sharing of personal information: we do not sell your personal information, and we do not share it for cross-context behavioral advertising;

- Limit the use of sensitive personal information: we use sensitive information only to provide the Services you request, and never to infer characteristics about you for advertising;

- Non-discrimination: we will not deny you services, charge different prices, or provide a different level of service because you exercised your privacy rights.

To exercise these rights, email hello@samanthaberendt.com with the subject line "California Privacy Request" and include enough information for us to verify your identity. We will respond within 45 days of receiving a verifiable request; this period may be extended once by an additional 45 days where reasonably necessary, with prior notice. You may also designate an authorized agent to make a request on your behalf.

Global Privacy Control and Do Not Track: Because we do not sell or share personal information as defined by the CCPA/CPRA, opt-out preference signals such as Global Privacy Control do not change how we handle your data. Our Website does not respond to browser Do Not Track signals.

Shine the Light (California Civil Code Section 1798.83): California residents may request information once per year about any sharing of personal data with third parties for their direct marketing purposes. We do not share personal data with third parties for their direct marketing purposes.

Minors (California Business & Professions Code Section 22581): California residents under 18 who are registered users may request removal of content they have publicly posted by emailing us with the email address associated with their account. Removal may not be complete or comprehensive in all circumstances.

CHILDREN'S PRIVACY

Our Services are intended for adults. We do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 13, and our sessions, workshops, and certification programs are offered only to individuals 18 and older unless a parent or guardian has consented and participates as required. If you believe a child has provided us personal information, contact us at hello@samanthaberendt.com and we will delete it.

TESTIMONIALS

We publish client testimonials on the Website only with the client's consent, and we identify clients by first name and general location only. If you have provided a testimonial and would like it updated or removed, email us at hello@samanthaberendt.com.

MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS

If you subscribe to our newsletter or free resources, we will email you our monthly content, workshop announcements, and cohort dates. You can unsubscribe at any time using the link at the bottom of any email or by contacting us. Unsubscribing from marketing does not affect transactional emails about your bookings or purchases.

LINKS TO OTHER WEBSITES

The Website may contain links to third-party websites (including our social media profiles). We have no control over, and assume no responsibility for, the content or privacy practices of third-party sites. We encourage you to review the privacy policy of every site you visit.

CHANGES TO THIS PRIVACY POLICY

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will post the updated policy on this page and revise the "Last Updated" date above. For material changes, we will provide notice by email and/or a prominent notice on the Website before the change takes effect. Changes are effective when posted.

CONTACT US

Questions about this Privacy Policy? Email us at: hello@samanthaberendt.com