Privacy Policy for ARC Reef

Effective Date: April 30, 2026 (2026-04-30)

Last Updated: April 30, 2026

At ARC Reef (https://arcreef.com), operated by ARC Reef (Atlantic Reef Conservation), operating as Atlantic Reef Conservation LLC (“ARC Reef,” “we,” “us,” or “our”), we consider the privacy of our visitors and customers to be extremely important. This Privacy Policy describes in detail the types of personal information collected by ARC Reef, how it is used, stored, shared, and protected, and your rights regarding that information. This Policy is incorporated by reference into our Terms of Service.

If you require any more information or have any questions about this Privacy Policy, please contact us by email at info@arcreef.com or by phone at +1 (800) 268-7625.

1. Scope of This Policy

This Privacy Policy applies to personal information collected through https://arcreef.com, our customer support channels, our checkout process, and any related services we provide (collectively, the “Service”). ARC Reef serves customers within the United States and does not actively market, ship, or sell to international customers. We do not knowingly process personal information of European Union or United Kingdom residents, and visitors from those jurisdictions are advised that this Site is not directed to them.

2. Information We Collect

2.1 Information You Provide to Us

When you create an account, complete checkout, contact our team, or otherwise interact with the Service, we collect:

  • Identity Information: Name, billing address, shipping address, email address, phone number.
  • Account Information: Username, password (encrypted), order history, account preferences.
  • Payment Information: Credit card or banking information processed exclusively through Stripe and PayPal. ARC Reef does not store credit card numbers, CVVs, or full banking details on our servers.
  • Customer Communications: Records of email, phone, text, or chat correspondence with our support team, including D.O.A. claim documentation, photographs, and order discussions.
  • User-Generated Content: Product reviews, testimonials, comments, and any media you voluntarily upload.
  • Institutional/B2B Information: For research clients, organizational identity, contact details, and custom payload specifications.

2.2 Information We Collect Automatically

When you visit the Service, we automatically collect:

  • Device and Browser Data: IP address, browser type, operating system, device identifiers, screen resolution, and language preferences.
  • Usage Data: Pages viewed, products viewed, items added to cart, time spent on pages, click paths, referring URL, and timestamps.
  • Location Data: Approximate geographic location derived from IP address (used for tax and shipping calculations and fraud detection).
  • Log Files: Standard hosting and security logs including IP addresses, request timestamps, ISPs, referring/exit pages, and click counts. Used to administer the Site, analyze trends, and detect security threats.

2.3 Information from Third Parties

We may receive information from payment processors (transaction confirmations), shipping carriers (delivery status), fraud prevention services, and advertising platforms in connection with services they provide to us.

3. How We Use Your Information

We use personal information to:

  • Process orders, fulfill shipments, calculate taxes, and apply discounts
  • Communicate with you about your account, orders, and customer service inquiries
  • Process refunds, returns, and D.O.A. claims under our Return Policy
  • Detect, prevent, and respond to fraud, chargebacks, and abuse
  • Comply with legal obligations including tax reporting, aquaculture transport regulations, and federal/state licensing requirements
  • Improve our products, Service, and customer experience
  • Deliver advertising and remarketing campaigns through Google Ads, Meta, and similar platforms (see Section 5)
  • Send promotional communications, where you have not opted out
  • Defend our legal rights and enforce our Terms of Service

4. Who We Share Your Information With

We do not sell your personal information for monetary consideration. However, certain advertising practices described in Section 5 may constitute “sharing” under California law (CCPA/CPRA).

4.1 Service Providers

We share information with vendors who help us operate the Service, bound by confidentiality and data-processing obligations:

  • Payment Processors: Stripe and PayPal receive transaction data necessary to process payments. Sensitive payment data is transmitted directly to these processors via secure API and never stored on our servers.
  • Shipping Carriers: USPS, FedEx, and UPS receive shipping addresses and order details necessary for delivery.
  • Hosting and Infrastructure: WP Engine (web hosting), Cloudflare (CDN, security, analytics).
  • Spam and Fraud Detection: Akismet processes comment metadata for spam filtering. Information includes IP address, user agent, referrer, and comment content.
  • Email Services: Transactional and marketing email providers used to send order confirmations and customer communications.

4.2 Legal and Safety Disclosures

We may disclose information when required by law, valid legal process (subpoena, court order, governmental request), or to protect our rights, property, or safety, or that of our customers or the public. This includes cooperation with NOAA, FWC, FDOA, and other regulatory authorities in connection with our aquaculture licensing obligations.

4.3 Business Transfers

If ARC Reef is involved in a merger, acquisition, asset sale, or bankruptcy proceeding, your information may be transferred as part of that transaction. We will notify affected users and provide options where required by law.

5. Cookies, Tracking Technologies & Advertising

5.1 Cookies

We use cookies and similar technologies to operate the Service, remember your preferences, analyze traffic, and deliver advertising:

  • Strictly Necessary Cookies: Required for cart functionality, checkout, login sessions, and security. Cannot be disabled without breaking the Service.
  • Functional Cookies: Remember your preferences (e.g., comment author info, opted-in for one year; “Remember Me” login, two weeks).
  • Analytics Cookies: Used by Google Analytics 4 and Cloudflare Analytics to measure Site performance and user behavior in aggregate.
  • Advertising Cookies: Used by Meta Pixel, Google Ads, and similar services to deliver relevant ads on third-party sites and measure campaign effectiveness.

5.2 Analytics

We use Google Analytics 4 to understand how visitors use our Site. Google Analytics collects information such as IP address (anonymized), pages viewed, time on site, device type, and traffic source. Information is processed by Google in accordance with the Google Privacy Policy. You may opt out by installing the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on.

We also use Cloudflare Analytics for privacy-respecting Site performance metrics. Cloudflare Analytics does not use cookies or fingerprinting.

5.3 Advertising and Remarketing

We use the following advertising and tracking platforms:

  • Meta Pixel (via Pixel Manager 5): Tracks Site visits and conversions for use with Meta (Facebook/Instagram) advertising. Information collected includes IP address, browser data, page views, and conversion events. See Meta’s Data Policy.
  • Google Ads & Google Remarketing: We may, from time to time, run remarketing campaigns through Google Ads to show relevant ads to past visitors on third-party sites within the Google Display Network. See Google Ads Privacy Information.

You may opt out of personalized advertising by:

5.4 Do Not Track

We do not currently respond to “Do Not Track” (DNT) browser signals, as no consistent industry standard has been established. We do, however, honor Global Privacy Control (GPC) signals from California residents as described above.

6. Embedded Content and Third-Party Integrations

Pages on our Site may include embedded content (e.g., YouTube videos, Google Web Fonts) that behave as if you visited the third-party site directly. These third parties may collect information about you, set cookies, and monitor your interaction with that content.

  • Google Web Fonts: When pages load, your browser establishes a connection to Google’s servers, which receives your IP address. See Google’s Privacy Policy.
  • YouTube Video Embeds: If you visit a page with a YouTube embed, a connection to YouTube servers is established. If you are logged into YouTube, your viewing activity may be associated with your account. To prevent this, log out of YouTube before visiting our Site.
  • Gravatar: When you leave a comment, an anonymized hash of your email address may be sent to Gravatar (Automattic) to retrieve a profile image.

7. Institutional Research & B2B Confidentiality

ARC Reef frequently supplies custom biological payloads, single-species isolates, and aquaculture infrastructure to universities, government agencies, and independent research laboratories. We recognize the highly sensitive nature of ongoing scientific studies, proprietary methodologies, and pre-publication academic literature.

  • Absolute Confidentiality: Even in the absence of a formalized Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA), ARC Reef maintains a strict, default posture of absolute confidentiality for all institutional clients.
  • Data Protection: We will never sell, distribute, or publicly disclose any information regarding your institutional identity, custom order specifications, or the nature of your research studies to any third party, competitor, or marketing agency.
  • Custom NDA: Institutional clients may request a formal mutual NDA in addition to the protections herein. Contact info@arcreef.com.

8. Data Retention

We retain personal information for the following periods, after which data is deleted, anonymized, or archived in accordance with our records-management practices:

  • Order and Transaction Records: Retained indefinitely as necessary to support our long-term repeat customer relationships, fulfill warranty obligations under our Return Policy, support the D.O.A. Guarantee and Lifetime Warranty, and comply with tax, accounting, and aquaculture regulatory requirements.
  • Account Information: Retained for the life of the account. Inactive accounts (no login or order activity for 7 years) may be archived or deleted.
  • Customer Service Communications: Retained for up to seven (7) years to support warranty claims, regulatory compliance, and dispute resolution.
  • Marketing and Analytics Data: Aggregated analytics data retained indefinitely. Individual-level behavioral and advertising data retained for up to twenty-four (24) months unless otherwise required.
  • Comments and Reviews: Retained indefinitely on the Site as part of our published content, unless removed upon request.
  • Legal and Regulatory Records: Retained as required by federal and state law, including aquaculture transport documentation, tax records (typically 7 years), and dispute records.

9. Security

We implement reasonable administrative, technical, and physical safeguards designed to protect personal information from unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, or destruction. These include:

  • HTTPS/TLS encryption for all data transmitted to and from the Site
  • Secure payment processing via PCI-compliant providers (Stripe, PayPal); credit card data is never stored on our servers
  • Cloudflare-based perimeter security, DDoS mitigation, and Web Application Firewall (WAF)
  • Restricted internal access to personal information on a need-to-know basis
  • Regular security updates and patching of our hosting environment

While we take security seriously, no method of transmission or storage over the Internet is 100% secure. We cannot guarantee absolute security but commit to industry-standard practices.

10. Data Breach Notification

In the event of a data breach affecting your personal information, we will notify affected users without undue delay and in accordance with applicable federal and state law, including Florida Statute § 501.171 (Florida Information Protection Act). Notification will describe the nature of the breach, information involved, steps we have taken, and recommended actions on your part.

11. Your Privacy Rights

11.1 Rights Available to All Users

You have the right to:

  • Access: Request a copy of personal information we hold about you
  • Correct: Request correction of inaccurate or incomplete information
  • Delete: Request deletion of personal information, subject to our legal obligations to retain certain records
  • Opt Out of Marketing: Unsubscribe from promotional communications using the link in any marketing email or by contacting us
  • Object to Processing: Request that we stop processing your information for specific purposes

11.2 California Residents (CCPA/CPRA)

If you are a California resident, you have additional rights under the California Consumer Privacy Act and California Privacy Rights Act:

  • Right to Know: Request disclosure of categories and specific pieces of personal information collected, sources, business purposes, and third parties with whom information was shared
  • Right to Delete: Request deletion of personal information, subject to legal exceptions
  • Right to Correct: Request correction of inaccurate personal information
  • Right to Opt Out of Sale or Sharing: Direct us not to “sell” or “share” personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising. Although we do not sell personal information for monetary consideration, our use of advertising cookies (Meta Pixel, Google Ads remarketing) may constitute “sharing” under California law.
  • Right to Limit Use of Sensitive Personal Information: Request that we limit use of sensitive personal information to specific business purposes
  • Right to Non-Discrimination: We will not deny goods or services, charge different prices, or provide different quality of service in retaliation for exercising your privacy rights
  • Authorized Agents: You may designate an authorized agent to make a request on your behalf

To exercise California rights, including opt-out of sale/sharing: Email info@arcreef.com with subject “California Privacy Request” and specify the right you wish to exercise. We honor Global Privacy Control (GPC) browser signals as opt-out requests.

11.3 Florida Residents (FDBR)

Florida’s Digital Bill of Rights provides certain privacy rights to Florida residents, primarily applicable to large businesses meeting specific revenue thresholds. ARC Reef does not currently meet the threshold criteria but voluntarily extends similar rights of access, correction, and deletion to all Florida residents, exercisable by contacting info@arcreef.com.

11.4 How to Submit a Request

To exercise any privacy right, contact us at:

  • Email: info@arcreef.com (subject line: “Privacy Request”)
  • Phone: +1 (800) 268-7625
  • Mail: Atlantic Reef Conservation LLC, 1521 Alton Rd. #138, Miami Beach, FL 33139, United States

We will verify your identity before fulfilling requests and respond within forty-five (45) days, with a possible additional forty-five (45) day extension where reasonably necessary. We do not charge a fee for reasonable requests.

12. Children’s Privacy

The Service is not directed to children under the age of eighteen (18). We do not knowingly collect personal information from individuals under 18. If you believe a minor has provided us with personal information, please contact info@arcreef.com and we will promptly delete the information from our records. Parents or guardians wishing to review or remove their minor child’s information may also contact us.

13. Geographic Scope and International Visitors

ARC Reef operates exclusively within the United States and does not actively market, ship, or sell products to customers outside the United States. Visitors located outside the United States access this Site at their own initiative and are responsible for compliance with their local laws. By using the Service, international visitors acknowledge that their information is processed and stored in the United States, which may have different privacy protections than their home jurisdiction.

We do not knowingly collect or process personal information of European Union, United Kingdom, or other international residents in a manner subject to GDPR, UK GDPR, or comparable foreign privacy laws.

14. Related Policies

This Privacy Policy operates in conjunction with:

15. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy at any time to reflect changes in our practices, technology, legal requirements, or for any other reason. Material changes will be communicated by:

  • Updating the “Last Updated” date at the top of this Policy
  • Posting prominent notice on the Site for at least thirty (30) days following material changes
  • Where appropriate, sending email notice to registered customers

Your continued use of the Service following any change constitutes acceptance of the updated Policy. We encourage you to review this Policy periodically.

16. Contact Information

For privacy questions, concerns, requests, or complaints, contact:

  • Legal Entity: Atlantic Reef Conservation LLC
  • Privacy Inquiries: info@arcreef.com
  • Phone: +1 (800) 268-7625
  • Mail: 1521 Alton Rd. #138, Miami Beach, FL 33139, United States

If you are unable to resolve a privacy concern with us directly, California residents may contact the California Attorney General. Florida residents may contact the Florida Attorney General’s Office.