HKSM
Privacy Policy
Effective date: October 31, 2026
This page explains what information HKSM (HK School of Management and Technology) collects when you use hksmnow.com, why we collect it, and what you can do about it. HKSM is responsible for your information. Questions? Contact us.
The short version
- We collect what we need to run your account, deliver what you buy and keep the site safe.
- We don't sell your information.
- We count visits with our own analytics tool, Matomo. It uses no cookies, shortens your IP address and collects no names or emails.
- Google Analytics and our marketing tracking run only if you choose Accept All. Advertising features are off.
- You can change your mind any time with Manage Cookies at the bottom of any page.
- We only send marketing emails if you ask for them.
What we collect
When you create an account or buy something
- Your name, email address and a scrambled version of your password (we can't read it)
- Your email preferences
- What you bought, the amount, the order reference, and whether your course access and purchase email were set up
We never see or store your full card number.
When you contact us or answer a survey
- Your name, email address and message when you use the contact form. Please don't include passwords or payment details.
- Your survey answers. If you're logged in, they're linked to your account.
Automatically
- Your IP address, browser and device, when you register, log in or change your email consent, to keep accounts secure
- Login attempts, to stop people guessing passwords
- Your progress in courses, on our course platform at courses.hksmnow.com
Counting visits
Matomo records the pages visited and, on sales pages, anonymous clicks: buy buttons, order add-ons, offers accepted or declined, completed purchases and video plays. It keeps the course, page and product, and never your name, email address or order number.
Why we use it
| What we do | Why we're allowed to |
|---|---|
| Run your account, deliver your courses and books, send login and purchase emails | We need it to give you what you asked for (contract) |
| Keep purchase records for refunds, tax and accounting; keep a record of your email consent choices | The law requires it, and we have a fair business need (legal obligation, legitimate interest) |
| Keep the site and accounts safe, stop spam and abuse, answer your messages | We have a fair need to do this (legitimate interest) |
| Count visits, sales-page clicks and sales totals with Matomo | We have a fair need to understand how the site is used, and it uses no cookies and no names (legitimate interest). To opt out, turn on Do Not Track in your browser. |
| Marketing emails | You said yes (consent) |
| Google Analytics, Mautic tracking and the survey cookie | You chose Accept All (consent) |
Cookies and your choice
The first time you visit, we ask you to choose:
- Necessary Only: just the login cookie below, plus Matomo, which uses no cookies.
- Accept All: also the optional cookies below.
To change your mind, click Manage Cookies at the bottom of any page and choose again. If you use a content blocker, it may hide our cookie choices; Google Analytics and Mautic then stay off. If you switch to Necessary Only, we turn those tools off and remove their cookies from your browser. Clearing cookies in your browser settings works too.
| Cookie | What it does | How long | When |
|---|---|---|---|
hksm_session |
Keeps you logged in and protects forms | 2 hours | Always |
_ga, _ga_X0GW0M6H9C |
Google Analytics: tells visits from the same browser apart | Up to 2 years (some browsers limit this to about 400 days) | Accept All only |
mtc_id, mautic_device_id |
Mautic: links your browsing to your account if you register | Until you close your browser. The same details stay in your browser's storage until you change your choice or clear it. | Accept All only |
hksm_survey_visitor |
Remembers surveys you answered or closed, so we don't ask again | 1 year | Accept All only |
If you choose Necessary Only, surveys still work, but one may appear again on a later visit.
We also keep your choice in your browser, so we don't ask on every page.
Videos
Some pages have videos hosted by YouTube or Vimeo. Nothing loads from them until you press play, and the page tells you where the video comes from. Once you press play, that company may collect information about your visit. See the YouTube (Google) and Vimeo privacy policies.
Companies that help us
They get only what they need for the job below. Their own privacy policies explain how they handle your information.
| Company | What it does for us | What it receives | Its policy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paddle | Sells our courses and books as the merchant of record: runs the checkout, takes payment, handles tax and sends your receipt | Everything you enter at checkout. It tells us your email, name, order and payment status, never your full card details. | Paddle |
| Google Analytics | Website statistics, only with Accept All | Pages visited, the same anonymous sales-page clicks, device and browser details | |
| Google reCAPTCHA | Stops automated abuse on forms such as registration, contact and surveys | Device details and how you interact with the form | |
| Google Gmail | Receives contact-form messages in our inbox | Your name, email address and message | |
| Amazon SES | Delivers our marketing emails | Your name, email address, the email and whether it was delivered | Amazon |
| GoDaddy | Hosts our website and database in the United States | The information stored on the site | GoDaddy |
We run these ourselves, on our own servers: Matomo (visit counts), Mautic (email preferences and campaigns) and HKSM Courses at courses.hksmnow.com. When you buy a course, we send the course platform your name, email address and account reference to set up your access.
Google Ads: Our Google Analytics account is linked to our Google Ads account, with personalised advertising turned off. We don't use your information for personalised ads. If we start advertising with Google in a way that changes this, we'll update this page first.
We may use other service providers from time to time. Ask us if you'd like to know more.
About purchases: we count started and completed checkouts per product and page to work out sales totals. Those counts are anonymous, and we don't use them to contact anyone.
Marketing emails
We send educational content and promotional offers only if you opt in. Both are optional and unticked unless you choose them, including at checkout. To change them, use the link in any marketing email or your account page. Emails about your account and purchases, like password resets and course access, are always sent.
How long we keep it
| Information | How long |
|---|---|
| Your account | Until you ask us to delete it |
| Your email consent history | Permanently, as proof of what you agreed to |
| Purchase records | As long as needed for refunds, disputes, tax and accounting, even after you delete your account |
| Failed logins / successful logins | 90 days / 30 days |
| Login sessions | 30 days after your last activity |
| Expired verification and reset links | 7 days after they expire |
| Contact messages | Only as long as we reasonably need to reply and keep business records |
| Survey answers | Unfinished: 30 days. Finished: until you ask us to delete them |
| Matomo visit records | 13 months. Summary totals, which contain no individual visits, are kept longer. |
| Google Analytics visit and event data | 14 months |
Your rights
Depending on where you live, you can ask us to show, correct, export or delete your information, object to how we use it, or withdraw your consent. Withdrawing consent doesn't affect what we did before.
- Cookies: Manage Cookies, at the bottom of any page
- Marketing emails: the link in any email, or your account page
- Delete or export your account: your account settings page
- Course records: your profile at courses.hksmnow.com. It's a separate system, so delete what you want removed there before deleting your HKSMNow account.
- Anything else: contact us. We reply within 30 days.
If you're not happy with our answer, you can complain to your local privacy authority.
Before deleting your account: it's permanent and we can't restore it. It doesn't cancel a purchase or request a refund; your refund rights stay the same, so contact us about those. We keep what the law requires, such as consent and purchase records, and Paddle keeps its own record as the seller.
Keeping it safe
We scramble passwords, encrypt connections with HTTPS, protect login cookies and forms, limit login attempts and filter spam on forms.
Where your information goes
Our website and data are stored in the United States. Depending on the service, Amazon, Paddle, Google, YouTube or Vimeo may handle information in other countries. If you're in the EU or UK, we rely on Standard Contractual Clauses with our service providers to protect those transfers.
Children
Our services are for adults and working professionals. We don't knowingly collect information from anyone under 16.
Changes to this policy
We update this page when our practices change. For big changes, we'll tell you by email or a notice on the site.
Questions
Contact us about your privacy or to make a complaint.
For more information about our privacy practices, if you have questions, or if you would like to make a complaint, please contact us.
Contact Us