1. Website Privacy Statement：

Cathaya Technologies and all our subsidies globally are committed to maintaining robust privacy protections for our customers, panelists, partners and visitors. This privacy statement covers the collection, use and disclosure of data collected via our websites (cathayaresearch.com & cathayatech.com).

By accessing our websites or our services, you accept our privacy policy and terms of use and you consent to our collection, storage, use, and disclosure of your personal information as described in this policy below.

a. Information We Collect:

We collect both “non-personal” and “personal” information. Non-personal information includes those that cannot be used to identify you personally, such as anonymous usage data, general demographic information we may collect, referring/exit pages and URLs, platform or device types, preferences that are submitted by you or are generated based on the data you submit and number of clicks. Personal information includes what can be used to identify you personally, such as your contact email, phone numbers, your company name and job roles, etc., which you submit to us through the registration process or other online functions/services you use on our websites.

When you visit our websites, you usually do not need to submit any personal information, however, in an effort to improve the quality of our services and a better functionality of our websites, we may track the information provided to us by your browser or by our software application when you view or use our services. This may include information about the website you came from (referring URL), the type of browser you use, the device from which you connect to our websites, the time and date of access, and other information that does not personally identify you. We track this information using cookies or small text files which include an anonymous unique identifier. Cookies are sent to a user’s browser from our websites and are stored on the user’s computer hard drive. Cathaya may use these cookies to improve the performance of our websites and services.

When you subscribe to our newsletters or create a new account on our websites, you will need to register and provide some personal profile information such as your email address, phone numbers, company name, location, and job roles, etc. You will create a user name and a password as well. By registering, you authorize to collect, store and use your personal information in accordance with this privacy policy.

b. How We Use and Share Information:

Cathaya does not sell, trade, rent, or otherwise share your information for marketing purposes. In scenarios when your personal information will have to be used or shared with third parities in order to perform the necessary services for you, we will always request your consent. We may share personal information with outside parties if we have a good-faith belief that access, use, preservation or disclosure of the information is reasonably necessary to meet any applicable legal process or enforceable governmental request (such as investigation of potential violations, frauds or security issues).

In general, we use non-personal information to help use improve the user experience of the websites and services. For example, we may aggregate non-personal information in order to track trends and analyze usage patterns on our websites. This privacy statement does not limit in any way our use or disclosure of such non-personal information and we reserve the right to use and disclose such information to our partners, advertisers and other third parties at our discretion.

In the event we undergo a business transaction such as a merger, acquisition by another company, or sale of all or a portion of our assets, your personal information may be among the assets transferred. You acknowledge and consent that such transfers may occur and are permitted by this privacy policy, and that any acquirer of our assets may continue to process your information as set forth in this policy. If our information practices change at any time in the future, we will post the policy changes to the websites so that you may opt out of the new information practices. We suggest that you check the websites periodically if you are concerned about how your information is used.

c. How We Protect Information:

Necessary security measures are implemented on the websites to protect your information from unauthorized access. Your account is protected by your personal password and we urge you to take steps to keep your personal information safe by not disclosing your password and by logging out of your account after each use. We further protect your information from potential security breaches by implementing certain technological security measures including data encryption, firewalls and secure socket layer technology. However, these measures do not guarantee that your information will not be accessed, disclosed, altered or destroyed by vicious breaches. By using our websites, you acknowledge that you understand and agree to assume these risks.

d. Your Rights regarding the Use of Your Personal Information:

You have the right at any time to prevent us from using your information for any purposes. When we communicate with you, you can always opt out of further communications by following the unsubscribe instructions provided in our communication or cancel your account on our websites.

e. Links to Other Websites

As part of our services, we may provide links to other websites or applications, however, we are not responsible for the privacy practices employed by those third parties. This privacy policy applies solely to information collected by us through our websites and services. We strongly encourage our users to read the privacy statements of other websites before proceeding to use them.

f. Our Cookie Policy:

Cookies are important to ensure the proper functioning of a website. We use cookies to remember log-in details and provide secure log-in, collect some usage statistics to improve the site functionality and deliver the content tailored to your needs. Click “Agree and Continue” to accept cookies and go directly to our site. You can also view the cookie policies with detailed descriptions of the types of cookies and choose whether to accept certain cookies.

Cookies are small information files that are placed on your device when you visit our website. We use several cookie types, and each type performs a different function. Information in the cookies may be linked to personal data. Cookies enable you to navigate between web pages efficiently and store your preferences, and they generally improve your web experience. Typical types of cookies used on our website include: (i) required, these are cookies required to enable core site functionality; (ii) functional, these are cookies that allow us to analyze our site usage in order to improve your usage experience; (iii) content cookies, these are cookies that we may use to deliver contents that are relevant to your interests. Please note that sometimes the classification of a cookie may overlap (for instance, a content cookie may also qualify as functional as it is necessary to enable you to view certain website content).

You can change your browser settings to disable selected cookie categories. However, keep in mind that deleting cookies will prevent you from using many of the features of the website.We use cookies to maintain your log-in status and control your access as you move through the site. Cookies also enable us to personalize your preferences.

We aggregate statistics for analysis regarding the application types used to browse our website and the regions from which such browsing takes place. Please be assured that this information is not personally identifiable.

g. Website Use by Minors:

Protecting the privacy of minors is extremely important to us. This website is not designed for or internally targeted at minors under the age of 18 and we request that minors not use this website. We do not knowingly collect data from minors and if we do become aware of any data from minors, we will take reasonable steps to delete such data from our records.

h. Changes to Our Privacy Policy:

Cathaya reserves the right to change this policy and our terms of services at any time. We will notify you of significant changes to our policy by sending a notice to the primary email address specified in your account or by placing a prominent notice on our websites. Significant changes will go into effect thirty days following such notification. Non-material changes or clarifications will take effect immediately. You should personally check the websites and this privacy page for updates.

2. Global Data Protection Policies:

As part of its social responsibility, Cathaya and all of its subsidies are committed to the strict compliance with data protection laws, regulations and policies globally including ESOMAR’s privacy and data protection policies, the General Data Protection Regulation issued by the European Union (“GDPR”), China’s personal privacy and data protection regulations, and other relevant local regulations around the world where we collect the data.

Cathaya’s internal data security committee overseas our compliance with applicable privacy laws and our internal data protection policies. We implement necessary security measures to protect all the data and information we collect from our clients, partners, and panelists and we conduct annual audits internally to ensure our practices are fully compliant. Employees receive trainings related to privacy and data protection in their orientation as well as annually.

We strictly adhere to the general principles relating to the collection and processing of personal data. Specifically

• Data will be handled lawfully, fairly and in a transparent manner in relation to the data subjects.
• Personal data will only be collected for specified, explicit and legitimate purposes and be used for research purposes.
• Only applicable and necessary personnel will have access to the data.
• Personal data must be accurate, validated and kept up to date; inaccurate and false information will be erased or rectified without delay.
• Personal data must not be retained in a form to permit identification of data subjects and Cathaya will not keep the data longer than is necessary for the purpose they are collected. When no longer required, personal data will be destroyed or erased timely.
• We will take all necessary and reasonable actions to safeguard the data we collect.

a. The Data Cathaya Collects:

Cathaya’s main business is associated with market research & data processing and by nature we may get access to certain types of information including personal data about individuals associated with our business, such as our current, past and prospective employees, suppliers, partners, clients, panelists and individuals we contact with for various research projects.

Specifically, the personal data we collect may be from:

• Our clients or prospects we contact with to do business with.
• Panelists or individuals who agree contractually to participate in our research panels and projects.
• Visitors to our websites and mobile apps or those who contact us via our websites, mobile apps, email, phone or other means.
• Our suppliers and business partners.
• Our employees and job candidates.
• Public sources, social media posts, or other publicly available information

b. Notice and Choices:

Cathaya ensures completely transparency of how we handle all the data we collect through clear notices and flexible options. All individuals involved in our business, such as panelists, respondents, customers, and partners, are made aware what data we may collect and how we safeguard these data. Individuals all must agree to the collection and processing of their data and they may withdraw at any time on their own will. They also have the option to opt out of our data collection or cancel their account or subscription services at any time.

c. Data Use and Retention:

All the data, including personal and non-personal data, are handled, stored, and used in the most appropriate and safest way. We restrict access to and use of such data to only relevant Cathaya employees and partners with legitimate business purposes. Cathaya does not share any data to any third parties for purposes other than research. All the data are stored in our secure dedicated servers located in different geographic locations as required by respective clients’ company policies and local government regulations. Cathaya typically stores all the research project data in our dedicated servers and hard storage devices for up to five years. Data can also be permanently removed per clients’ request at any time.

d. Data Security:

Both technical and administrative measures have been implemented to safeguard the personal data and all research data collected for our clients. We have internal policies that specify who has the access to what data, where the data is stored and for how long, and how the data should be handled. Technical measures such as firewalls, data encryption, server security features, periodical system testing and internal audits, are all in practice to further ensure the data security.

e. Cross-border Data Transfer:

We are strictly compliant with applicable local regulations regarding cross-border transfer of and access to personal data. Cathaya is highly committed to compliance with cultural and social requirements as well as local regulations where we conduct research projects and collect the data.

f. Disclosures of Data to Third Parties:

All the data we collect are only used for research purposes. We do not disclose or sell any personal data that could directly identify individuals to any third parties including our clients and we only analyze data in an aggregate way. Additionally, we contractually prohibit all our partners and suppliers that have access to our data from doing that either through our mutual Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA). All the partners and suppliers are required to keep the data secure and use it only in the services they have been engaged to provide. Cathaya only provides data to government and law enforcement organizations as required by law or to protect our own legal interests or the health and safety of others.

g. Contact Us:

If you have any questions or comments regarding this privacy policy or the practices of our websites, please contact us by sending an email to: support@cathayaresearch.com.

Last Updated: This privacy policy was last updated on August 01, 2024.