Privacy Policy

Last updated: August 19, 2026

Biome Media respects your privacy and is committed to handling personal information responsibly and transparently.

This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect when you visit biomemedia.org, subscribe to our emails, purchase a product or membership, participate in Explorer Crew, contact us, or otherwise use our services. It also explains why we collect that information, how it may be shared, and the choices available to you.

In this Privacy Policy, “Biome Media,” “Biome,” “we,” “us,” and “our” refer to Biome Media.

1. Information We Collect

The information we collect depends on how you interact with Biome Media.

Information You Provide to Us

We may collect information that you provide directly, including:

  • Your name
  • Your email address
  • Account and profile information
  • Information associated with purchases or memberships
  • Messages you send through our contact forms
  • Newsletter subscriptions
  • Comments and forum posts
  • Photographs and observations you choose to share
  • Profile information and other user-generated content
  • Information you provide when contacting us for support
  • Voice messages you choose to send through our Spotify for Creators voice-message page

We ask that you do not provide sensitive personal information unless it is reasonably necessary for us to assist you or provide a service you requested.

Payment Information

Purchases made through Biome Media, including Explorer Crew memberships, are processed using Stripe.

Payment-card information is processed directly by Stripe. Biome Media does not intentionally store your complete credit or debit card number.

We may receive information from Stripe that is necessary to process and manage a transaction, such as your name, email address, customer or transaction identifiers, payment status, subscription status, and other information associated with your purchase.

Where applicable, information received through the payment process may also be used to create or maintain your Biome Media WordPress account.

Account Information

If you create an account or purchase access to a members-only service such as Explorer Crew, we may collect and maintain information including:

  • Your name and email address
  • Username and account details
  • Membership or subscription status
  • Profile information
  • Account preferences
  • Login and security information

Passwords are handled through our WordPress account system and should always be kept confidential.

Course and Explorer Crew Information

When you participate in Explorer Crew or another Biome Media learning program, we may record information about your participation, including:

  • Course and lesson progress
  • Completed activities
  • Achievements and badges
  • Challenge participation
  • Forum activity
  • Comments
  • Observations
  • Photographs or files you choose to upload
  • Other information you voluntarily contribute to the community

This information helps us operate the program, track progress, provide community features, and improve the learning experience.

2. Explorer Crew Community Content

Explorer Crew includes community features that allow members to interact with one another.

Information you post within these areas may include forum threads, replies, comments, photographs, wildlife observations, profile information, and other user-generated content.

Explorer Crew community content is intended to be visible only to authorized Explorer Crew members rather than to the general public.

However, whenever you share information with other people online, we cannot guarantee that another member will not copy, save, photograph, or redistribute it outside the community. Please avoid posting information that you would consider highly sensitive or confidential.

We may moderate, remove, or retain community content when reasonably necessary to operate the community, enforce our rules, protect members, resolve disputes, or comply with legal obligations.

3. Information Collected Automatically

When you visit our website, certain technical information may be collected automatically.

This may include:

  • Internet Protocol (IP) address
  • Browser type and version
  • Device type
  • Operating system
  • Pages visited
  • Approximate geographic region
  • Referral source
  • Date and time of visits
  • Time spent on pages
  • Website interactions
  • Cookie and similar technology identifiers
  • Diagnostic and security information

We use this information to operate, protect, understand, and improve our website and services.

4. Cookies and Consent Preferences

Biome Media uses cookies and similar technologies for functions such as:

  • Keeping the website working correctly
  • Maintaining account sessions
  • Remembering preferences
  • Measuring website traffic and performance
  • Understanding how visitors use our website
  • Measuring the effectiveness of advertising

Some cookies are necessary for the website to operate. Others relate to analytics, statistics, or advertising.

We use Complianz to provide cookie and consent controls on our website.

Through these controls, visitors can choose whether to allow non-essential cookies and similar tracking technologies. Depending on the choices available in the consent interface, you may:

  • Accept non-essential cookies
  • Reject non-essential cookies
  • Manage your consent preferences by category

Necessary cookies that are required for the website to operate may remain active regardless of your preference.

Where consent is required, we use your consent choices to determine whether non-essential analytics or marketing technologies may be used.

You may also control or delete cookies through your browser settings. Blocking certain cookies may affect how some parts of the website function.

Where available, you can revisit or change your cookie consent preferences using the consent-management controls provided on our website.

5. Google Analytics

We use Google Analytics 4 (GA4) to better understand how visitors use Biome Media.

Google Analytics may collect information about website visits, devices, browsers, sessions, interactions, and related technical information through cookies and similar technologies.

We use analytics information to:

  • Understand which content visitors find useful
  • Measure website traffic and performance
  • Identify website and content trends
  • Improve Biome Media and its services

Analytics information is generally used to understand visitor behaviour at an aggregate level rather than to personally identify individual visitors.

Where required, Google Analytics is subject to your cookie and analytics consent preferences.

6. Meta Pixel

Biome Media has the Meta Pixel installed on the website.

We may use the Meta Pixel in connection with advertising on Facebook and Instagram, including to:

  • Measure visits and actions resulting from advertisements
  • Understand the effectiveness of advertising campaigns
  • Build or measure advertising audiences
  • Improve future advertising

Biome Media may have periods when no Meta advertising campaigns are active, but the technology may remain installed on the website.

Where required, Meta-related advertising and tracking technologies are subject to your marketing-cookie consent preferences.

Information processed by Meta is also subject to Meta’s own privacy practices.

7. Email Marketing and MailPoet

We use MailPoet and the MailPoet Sending Service to manage newsletter subscriptions and send email communications.

Our current public newsletter subscription form asks for your email address.

We may use your email address to send:

  • Biome Media newsletters
  • New articles and educational content
  • Conservation stories and updates
  • Explorer Crew information
  • Offers, announcements, or promotional communications
  • Other updates you have requested or consented to receive

We send marketing communications where we have an appropriate basis for doing so.

You can unsubscribe from marketing emails at any time using the unsubscribe link included in our emails.

Unsubscribing from marketing messages does not necessarily prevent us from sending essential transactional or account-related communications, such as payment receipts, subscription information, password resets, or important service notices.

8. Contact Forms and Spam Protection

Our website uses Jetpack functionality for contact forms and Akismet to help identify and prevent spam.

When you submit a contact form, we may collect information including your:

  • Name
  • Email address
  • Message
  • IP address
  • Browser or device information
  • Other information you voluntarily include in the form

Information associated with a submission may be processed by our service providers where necessary to deliver the message or detect spam.

We use contact-form information primarily to respond to your request and maintain appropriate records of our communications.

9. Voice Messages and Spotify

Biome Media provides an optional link on our Contact page allowing visitors to send us a voice message through Spotify for Creators.

When you use this feature, you leave the Biome Media website and interact directly with Spotify’s service.

Spotify may collect and process information associated with your use of that feature, including your voice recording, according to Spotify’s own privacy practices.

Biome Media may receive and listen to the voice message you submit so that we can respond to your communication or use it for another purpose for which you have given permission.

Sending a voice message is entirely optional.

10. Embedded Media

Some Biome Media content, including past podcast content, may contain media provided through third-party services such as Spotify.

Loading or interacting with embedded third-party content may allow the third-party provider to receive technical information about your device or interaction.

The third party’s own privacy practices apply to information it receives.

11. How We Use Personal Information

We may use personal information to:

  • Provide and operate the Biome Media website
  • Create and manage user accounts
  • Provide Explorer Crew and other membership services
  • Process purchases and subscriptions
  • Track course progress and achievements
  • Operate community features
  • Respond to questions and support requests
  • Deliver newsletters and other requested communications
  • Send important account, membership, or transaction notices
  • Improve our website, educational content, and services
  • Understand website usage and performance
  • Measure advertising effectiveness
  • Prevent spam, abuse, fraud, and security incidents
  • Maintain backups and business records
  • Enforce our terms, policies, and community rules
  • Meet legal, accounting, regulatory, or other legitimate business obligations

We aim to collect and use only the personal information reasonably necessary for these purposes.

12. How We Share Personal Information

We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information to other organizations for their own marketing purposes.

We may provide information to service providers when reasonably necessary to operate Biome Media.

These providers may include:

  • Stripe, for payment and subscription processing
  • Automattic services, including WordPress-related services, Jetpack, Akismet, and MailPoet
  • Google, for website analytics
  • Meta, in connection with Facebook and Instagram advertising and measurement
  • SiteGround, for website hosting, infrastructure, and backups
  • Epik, for hosting Biome Media email services
  • Spotify, when you interact with Spotify-hosted podcast or voice-message features
  • Other technical service providers that help us securely operate the website

We may also disclose information when:

  • You ask or authorize us to do so
  • It is reasonably necessary to provide a service you requested
  • We are required to do so by law, court order, or lawful government request
  • It is necessary to investigate fraud, abuse, security problems, or violations of our policies
  • It is reasonably necessary to protect the rights or safety of Biome Media, our members, or others
  • Biome Media undergoes a merger, acquisition, restructuring, or transfer of some or all of its operations

Service providers receive information as necessary for the functions they perform on our behalf.

13. Conservation Organizations

Supporting conservation is an important part of Biome Media’s mission.

When Biome Media provides funding or support to conservation organizations, we do not provide those organizations with our members’ or subscribers’ personal information for their own marketing purposes.

Where appropriate, we may provide conservation partners with aggregate or non-identifying information, such as overall participation, campaign results, or the total amount raised.

We may share personally identifying information with a conservation organization only if you specifically authorize us to do so or where otherwise required by law.

14. International Processing

Some of the companies that help us operate Biome Media are located outside Canada or may process or store information in other countries.

As a result, personal information may be transferred to or processed in jurisdictions where privacy laws differ from those in Alberta or elsewhere in Canada.

Information processed in another country may be subject to lawful access by courts, law-enforcement authorities, or government agencies in that jurisdiction.

We take reasonable steps to use reputable service providers and appropriate safeguards for personal information under our control.

15. Retention of Personal Information

We keep personal information only for as long as reasonably necessary for the purpose for which it was collected or as required for legitimate business, accounting, security, contractual, or legal purposes.

Retention periods vary depending on the type of information.

For example, we may retain:

  • Account information while an account remains active or for a reasonable period after a membership ends
  • Transaction records as required for accounting and business purposes
  • Course records while necessary to operate a membership or learning program
  • Communications where necessary to maintain a history of a request or business relationship
  • Website and security logs for a limited period
  • Backups for normal disaster-recovery and security purposes

When information is no longer reasonably required, we may delete, anonymize, or securely dispose of it.

Information contained in backups may remain for a limited additional period until those backups are overwritten or deleted through normal backup cycles.

16. Security

We use reasonable administrative, technical, and organizational measures to protect personal information against unauthorized access, loss, misuse, alteration, or disclosure.

These measures may include account controls, secure hosting, access restrictions, backups, encryption provided by our website and payment infrastructure, spam and security tools, and established service providers.

No website, online service, or electronic storage system can guarantee absolute security.

If we become aware of a privacy or security incident involving personal information, we will investigate it and take appropriate steps, including providing notifications where required by applicable law.

17. Children and Family Participation

Biome Media creates educational content that may be useful and interesting to people of different ages.

Explorer Crew is not intended to allow children to independently create and manage accounts or provide personal information without appropriate parental or guardian involvement.

Children and young people may participate in Explorer Crew with a parent or legal guardian.

Where a child participates, we ask that the parent or guardian:

  • Create or manage the relevant account
  • Manage purchases and subscriptions
  • Supervise the child’s use of Explorer Crew
  • Review information the child wishes to share
  • Supervise photographs, observations, comments, forum posts, profile information, or other community content submitted through the account

We encourage families not to share unnecessary identifying information about children through community features.

Children Under 13

Where applicable law requires parental consent before personal information can be knowingly collected from a child under 13, Biome Media will seek appropriate parental or guardian involvement and consent before knowingly collecting that information.

A child under 13 should not independently create an account or submit personal information to Biome Media.

Parents or guardians wishing to participate in Explorer Crew with a child under 13 should create and control the account themselves and supervise the child’s participation.

If we learn that we have collected personal information directly from a child without any consent or parental involvement required by applicable law, we will take reasonable steps to review and, where appropriate, delete that information.

If you are a parent or guardian and believe that a child has provided personal information to us without appropriate permission, please contact us at questions@biome.media.

18. Your Privacy Rights

Depending on where you live and which laws apply, you may have rights relating to your personal information.

These may include the right to:

  • Ask whether we hold personal information about you
  • Request access to personal information we hold about you
  • Request correction of inaccurate or incomplete information
  • Withdraw consent where processing depends on consent, subject to legal or contractual limitations
  • Ask us to delete information where appropriate
  • Unsubscribe from marketing communications
  • Change your non-essential cookie consent preferences
  • Ask questions about how your information has been collected, used, or disclosed
  • Raise a concern or complaint about our privacy practices

Some information may need to be retained even after you request deletion, for example where we have a legal, accounting, security, or contractual obligation to keep it.

To make a privacy request, contact us at questions@biome.media.

We may need to verify your identity before providing access to, correcting, or deleting personal information.

If you are making a request on behalf of a child, we may also need to verify your authority as their parent or legal guardian.

19. Canadian Privacy

Biome Media is based in Alberta, Canada.

We handle personal information in accordance with privacy laws that apply to our activities, including Alberta’s Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA) and, where applicable, Canadian federal privacy requirements.

These laws establish principles relating to matters including consent, reasonable collection and use of personal information, protection of information, transparency, and individual access and correction rights.

If you have a concern about our handling of your personal information, we encourage you to contact us first so that we can try to address it.

Nothing in this Privacy Policy limits any rights you may have under applicable privacy law.

20. Visitors Outside Canada

Biome Media is accessible internationally.

If you live outside Canada, privacy laws in your jurisdiction may provide additional rights concerning your personal information.

Where those laws apply to Biome Media, we will honour applicable legal rights and obligations.

You may contact us at questions@biome.media with questions or requests concerning your information.

21. Subscription Cancellation

You may cancel an Explorer Crew or other recurring Biome Media subscription using the cancellation options provided with your membership.

Cancelling a subscription stops future recurring payments in accordance with the applicable subscription terms.

Cancellation of a subscription does not necessarily result in the immediate deletion of your Biome Media account or personal information.

Your account may remain available for a period after cancellation before being removed through our normal account-management process.

22. Account and Personal Information Deletion

Biome Media does not currently provide a separate self-service account-deletion button.

If you would like your account or personal information deleted, please contact us at questions@biome.media.

After receiving a deletion request, we will remove or anonymize personal information where reasonably possible and where we are not required or permitted to retain it for legal, accounting, security, contractual, fraud-prevention, or other legitimate purposes.

Certain information may remain temporarily in website backups until those backups are overwritten or deleted through our normal backup cycle.

Transaction and payment records may also need to be retained for accounting, tax, fraud-prevention, or legal purposes.

Community content, such as forum posts or replies, may in some circumstances be anonymized rather than completely removed where retaining the content is reasonably necessary to preserve the context and integrity of community discussions.

Cancelling a membership and requesting deletion of an account are therefore separate actions. If you want your account or associated personal information removed following cancellation, you can contact us directly.

23. Third-Party Websites

Biome Media contains links to websites and services that we do not operate.

If you follow one of these links, the third party may collect information from you under its own privacy policy and terms.

Biome Media is not responsible for the privacy practices of independent third-party websites, and we encourage you to review their privacy information before providing personal information.

24. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes to Biome Media, the services we use, our privacy practices, or applicable legal requirements.

When we make changes, we will update the “Last updated” date at the top of this page.

If a change materially affects how we use personal information, we may provide additional notice where appropriate.

25. Contact Us

If you have a question, concern, access request, correction request, consent question, or deletion request relating to privacy or personal information, please contact:

Biome Media
#274 132-250 Shawville Blvd SE
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
T2Y 2Z7

Email: questions@biome.media

Website: https://biomemedia.org