The Hard Market Privacy Policy (this “Privacy Policy”)
Last revised and effective as of: July 17, 2025
This Privacy Policy applies to personal information collected by The Hard Market, Inc. (“The Hard Market” “we” or “us” or “our”) including through your use of the The Hard Market website at https://www.hardmarket.com/ and any subdomains thereof (the “Site”) and the services, features, and information available on the Site, including The Hard Market’s proprietary software solution (together with the Site, along with associated and successor websites, applications, features, information, and services, or any part thereof, the “Service”). As used herein, “you” and “your” mean a user of the Service.
If an organization with which you are associated (an “Organization”) signs up to use our services, we may receive information about you in connection with our provision of such services to your Organization, which may include your personal information. To the extent we process your personal information solely in order to provide such services to your Organization, we will act as a processor on behalf of your Organization in respect of that personal information, which means: we will handle that personal information solely at the direction of your Organization; your Organization’s privacy policy (and not this Privacy Policy) will apply to the processing of that personal information; and your Organization (and not us) is responsible for obtaining all necessary consents and providing you with all requisite information as required by applicable law. To the extent we process your personal information for any other lawful business purpose of ours, this Privacy Policy will apply to the processing of such personal information.
As used in this Privacy Policy, the terms “using” and “processing” personal information include using cookies on a computer, subjecting the personal information to statistical or other analysis and using or handling personal information in any way, including, but not limited to collecting, storing, evaluating, modifying, deleting, using, combining, disclosing and transferring personal information within The Hard Market or among our affiliates within the United States or internationally.
This Privacy Policy serves to notify you of the following:
1. What personal information about me is collected?
2. Your consent
3. Where and when is personal information collected (including through the use of cookies and action tags)?
4. Does The Hard Market collect personal information from children?
5. How does The Hard Market use the personal information it collects and when does The Hard Market disclose personal information to third parties?
6. Does this Privacy Policy apply when I link to other websites or services?
7. Is the personal information collected through the Service secure?
8. Could my personal information be transferred to other countries?
9. For how long will my personal information be kept?
10. What choices do I have regarding my personal information?
11. How can I access and correct my personal information?
12. How will I know if there are any changes to this Privacy Policy?
13. Who do I contact if I have any privacy questions?
1. WHAT PERSONAL INFORMATION ABOUT ME IS COLLECTED?
In this Privacy Policy, “personal information” means information that, alone or in combination with other information, can be used to identify an individual (i.e., a natural person), but does not include (to the extent permitted by applicable law) information that is: (a) anonymized (including as a result of aggregation) so that the information cannot be directly or indirectly associated with an identifiable individual; (b) business contact information that enables an individual to be contacted at a place of business; or (c) not subject to regulation by applicable personal information laws.
The personal information we collect may include your name, e-mail address, any information included in a message you submit through the Site, and telephone number. We may also collect demographic information, browser types, unique device identifiers, device types, requested URL, referring URL, browser language, the pages you view, the date and time of your visit, domain names, and statistical data involving the use of the Service.
2. YOUR CONSENT
By using the Service or otherwise providing personal information to us, directly or indirectly, you consent to our collection, use, disclosure, and retention of your personal information as described in this Privacy Policy and as otherwise permitted by applicable law.
We may also obtain your additional consent from you in certain circumstances to collect, use, disclose, or retain your personal information for other purposes not described in this Privacy Policy. In addition, where permitted by applicable law, we may collect, use, disclose, and retain your personal information without your consent.
You may withdraw your consent at any time, subject to legal or contractual restrictions and on reasonable notice to us, but then you might not be able to use or obtain the full benefit of the Service. Please refer to Section 10 of this Privacy Policy to learn about withdrawing your consent.
By providing us with the personal information of another individual, you confirm that the individual has given valid consent to: (a) your disclosure of their personal information to us; and (b) our collection, use, disclosure, and retention of their personal information in accordance with this Privacy Policy.
3. WHERE AND WHEN IS PERSONAL INFORMATION COLLECTED (INCLUDING THROUGH THE USE OF COOKIES AND ACTION TAGS)?
We will collect personal information that you submit to us. We may also receive personal information about you from third parties providing credit and debit card authorization and fraud screening services as part of your use of the Service. In addition, we may obtain your personal information from you if you identify yourself to us by communicating with us including by sending us an e-mail with questions or comments.
Registering to Use the Service and in the Course of Using the Service.
You may be required to establish an account in order to take advantage of certain features of the Service. If so, if you wish to establish an account you will be required to provide us with personal information such as name, e-mail address, and phone number. Also, we will have access to any information that you choose to share through the Service.
Cookies and Action Tags.
We may collect personal information passively using “cookies” and “action tags.”
“Cookies” are small text files that can be placed on your computer or mobile device in order to identify your web browser and the activities of your computer on the Service and other websites. Cookies can be used to personalize your experience on the Service (such as dynamically generating content on webpages specifically designed for you), to assist you in using the Service (such as saving time by not having to reenter your name each time you use the Service), to allow us to statistically monitor how you are using the Service to help us improve our offerings, and to target certain advertisements to your browser which may be of interest to you or to determine the popularity of certain content.
In addition to cookies that we may place on your computer or mobile device, cookies might also be placed on your computer or mobile device by third parties that we use to display or serve advertisements or to collect personal information in order to provide advertising-related services. In the course of serving advertisements, such third-party advertisers could place or recognize unique cookies on your browser.
You do not have to accept cookies to use the Service. Although most browsers are initially set to accept cookies, you may reset your browser to notify you when you receive a cookie or to reject cookies generally. Most browsers offer instructions on how to do so in the “Help” section of the toolbar. However, if you reject cookies, certain features or resources of the Service may not work properly or at all and you may experience some loss of convenience.
For the avoidance of doubt, the Service may use third-party service platforms (including to help analyze how users use the Service). These third-party service platforms may place cookies on your computer or mobile device. If you would like to disable “third party” cookies, you may be able to turn them off by going to the third party’s website.
Here is a link to the main third-party platform we use:
https://www.google.com/policies/privacy/
“Action tags,” also known as web beacons or gif tags, are a web technology used to help track website usage information, such as how many times a specific page has been viewed. Action tags are invisible to you, and any portion of the Service, including advertisements, or e-mail sent on our behalf, may contain action tags.
By using cookies and action tags together, we can gain valuable information to improve the Service and measure the effectiveness of our advertising and marketing campaigns. We may also combine personal information collected from cookies with personal information that you may provide, such as information provided in a form that you complete. Personal information collected from some cookies placed on the website is used to deliver advertisements to Site visitors when such visitors are visiting other websites, including Facebook and LinkedIn.
Finally, you should be aware that advertisers and other third parties may use their own cookies or action tags when you click on their advertisement or a link to their websites or services on or from the Service. This Privacy Policy does not govern the use of cookies or action tags or the use of your personal information by such third-party websites or services or providers of third-party advertising.
Log Files.
We also collect personal information through our Internet log files, which record data such as user IP addresses, browser types, domain names, and other anonymous statistical data involving the use of the Service. This personal information may be used to analyze trends, to administer the Service, to monitor the use of the Service, and to gather general demographic information. We may link this personal information to other personal information about you for these and other purposes such as personalizing your experience on the Service and evaluating the Service in general.
4. DOES THE HARD MARKET COLLECT PERSONAL INFORMATION FROM CHILDREN?
We are committed to protecting the privacy of children. The Service is not designed for or directed to children under the age of 18. We do not collect personal information from any person we actually know is under the age of 18.
5. HOW DOES THE HARD MARKET USE THE PERSONAL INFORMATION IT COLLECTS AND WHEN DOES THE HARD MARKET DISCLOSE PERSONAL INFORMATION TO THIRD PARTIES?
We use the personal information collected to: (a) provide the Service to you and process your transactions, (b) to contact you for customer service and billing purposes, (c) conduct analytics to help us understand who uses the Service and to improve the Service.
(a) Providing the Service and Processing Transactions.
We may use your personal information to send you a welcome e-mail that may confirm your user name and password and to contact you about the Service. Unless you opt in, we will not send you electronic newsletters or promotional emails about products, services, information, and news that may be of interest to you, or provide you with targeted feedback. If you have opted in to such communications and no longer desire to receive them, you may inform us by using the unsubscribe mechanism found in each communication. You may also inform us by email to: hi@hardmarket.com.
If you identify yourself to us by sending us an e-mail with questions or comments, we may use your personal information to respond to your questions or comments, and we may file your questions or comments (with your personal information) for future reference and in accordance with Section 9 of this Privacy Policy.
(b) Customer Service and Billing.
We may also use the personal information collected to send announcements and updates regarding your billing account status. You will not be able to unsubscribe from these Service announcements and updates as they contain important information relevant to your use of the Service and are necessary for the performance of our contract with you or your Organization.
(c) Analytics.
We may also use the personal information gathered to perform statistical analysis of user behavior or to evaluate and improve the Service. We may link some of this personal information to other personal information for internal purposes or to improve your experience with the Service. In addition, we may also anonymize your information (so that it can no longer be associated with you), in which case we may use and/or disclose such anonymous information for our lawful business purposes.
(d)Advertising.
We may use your personal information to facilitate the delivery of advertising, and, if you have “opted in” (to the extent permitted by applicable law), so that we can contact you about products and services that may be of interest to you.
We may transfer your personal information to our third party service providers (i.e., organizations that provide services to us, including our affiliates) to assist us to use your personal information as explained in this Privacy Policy, as specifically authorized by you, and as otherwise permitted by applicable law. , including providers of services to help us: (a) operate our business; (b) provide the Service to you; (c) provide, operate and maintain our information technology systems and services; (d) complete transactions; (e) create, print and deliver emails, text messages, and documents; (f) detect and deter fraud; (g) provide customer care services; (h) conduct promotions, sweepstakes, contests, surveys, and other marketing activities and events; and (i) collect and analyze data. We take reasonable steps to protect your personal information from unauthorized uses and disclosures once it is transferred to a service provider, and we satisfy ourselves that our service providers have policies and processes in place to safeguard personal information. Our service providers may be located outside Canada, as explained in Section 8 of this Privacy Policy.
The categories of service providers to whom we may transfer your personal information include:
Third Parties Generally.
We may provide personal information to third parties, including where such personal information is combined with similar personal information of other users of the Service. For example, we might inform third parties regarding the number of unique users who use the Service, the demographic breakdown of our users of the Service, or the products and/or services purchased using the Service and the vendors of such products and services. In addition to the above, when users use our Service, third parties (including without limitation third-party advertisers, analytics service providers, and commercial partners) may directly collect personal information about our users’ online activities over time and across different websites. The third parties to which we may provide or who may independently directly collect personal information may include potential or actual advertisers, providers of advertising products or services (including vendors, analytics services providers, and website tracking services), affiliates and other actual or potential commercial partners, and other similar parties. Please note in particular that the Service uses Google Analytics, including its data reporting features. Information collected by Google Analytics includes but is not limited to web metrics. For information on how Google Analytics collects and processes data, please see the site “How Google uses data when you use our partners’ sites or apps”, currently located at www.google.com/policies/privacy/partners/. For information on opting out of Google Analytics, we encourage you to visit Google’s website, including its list of currently available opt-out options presently located at https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout.
Professional Advisors.
We may provide your personal information to professional advisors, such as lawyers, auditors, bankers, and insurers, where necessary in the course of the professional services that they render to us.
Outside Contractors.
We may employ independent contractors, vendors and suppliers (collectively, “Outside Contractors”) to provide specific services and products related to the Service, such as hosting and maintaining the Service, providing credit card processing and fraud screening, and developing applications for the Service. In the course of providing products or services to us, these Outside Contractors may have access to personal information collected through the Service, including your personal information.
Laws and Legal Rights.
We may disclose your personal information if we believe in good faith that we are required to do so in order to comply with an applicable statute, regulation, rule or law, a subpoena, a search warrant, a court or regulatory order, lawful requests by public authorities, including to meet national security or law enforcement requirements, or other valid legal process. We may disclose personal information in special circumstances when we have reason to believe that disclosing this personal information is necessary to identify, contact or bring legal action against someone who may be violating a contract with us, to detect fraud, for assistance with a delinquent account, or to protect the safety and/or security of our users, the Service or the general public
Sale of Business.
We reserve the right to transfer personal information to a third party in connection with an actual or proposed sale, merger, general corporate reorganization, or other transfer of all or substantially all of the assets of The Hard Market or any of its Corporate Affiliates (as defined below), or that portion of The Hard Market or any of its Corporate Affiliates to which the Service relates, or in connection with a strategic investment by a third party in The Hard Market, or in the event that we discontinue our business or file a petition or have filed against us a petition in bankruptcy, reorganization or similar proceeding.
Affiliates.
We may disclose personal information about you to our Corporate Affiliates, including to provide the Service to you, as otherwise provided by this Privacy Policy, or for our lawful business purposes. For purposes of this Privacy Policy: “Corporate Affiliate” means any person or entity which directly or indirectly controls, is controlled by or is under common control with The Hard Market, whether by ownership or otherwise; and “control” means possessing, directly or indirectly, the power to direct or cause the direction of the management, policies or operations of an entity, whether through ownership of fifty percent (50%) or more of the voting securities, by contract or otherwise.
6. DOES THIS PRIVACY POLICY APPLY WHEN I LINK TO OTHER WEBSITES OR SERVICES?
Our Service may provide you with access to other websites and services. Please be aware that we are not responsible for the privacy practices of any websites or services other than the Service. A link to a third-party website does not constitute or imply endorsement by us. Additionally, we cannot guarantee the quality or accuracy of information presented on those websites. We encourage you to read the privacy policies or statements of each and every such website and service. This Privacy Policy applies solely to personal information collected by us or on our behalf, including through the Service.
7. IS THE PERSONAL INFORMATION COLLECTED THROUGH THE SERVICE SECURE?
You should be aware that there is always some risk involved in transmitting information over the Internet. There is also some risk that others could find a way to thwart our security systems. As a result, while we strive to protect your personal information, we cannot ensure or warrant the security or privacy of any personal information you transmit to us, and you do so at your own risk.
8. COULD MY PERSONAL INFORMATION BE TRANSFERRED TO OTHER COUNTRIES?
Personal information collected on the Service may be transferred from time to time to our offices or personnel, or to third parties, located throughout the world, and the Service may be viewed and hosted anywhere in the world. The personal information protection laws of other jurisdictions might be different from the laws of the jurisdiction in which you reside, and might permit the government, government agencies, courts, law enforcement agencies, and security authorities in those other jurisdictions to access your personal information without notice.
9. FOR HOW LONG WILL MY PERSONAL INFORMATION BE KEPT?
We will only retain your personal information for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes for which we collected it or as otherwise permitted by applicable law.
To determine the appropriate retention period for personal information, we consider the amount, nature, and sensitivity of that personal information, the potential risk of harm from unauthorized use or disclosure, the purposes for which we process your personal information and whether we can achieve those purposes through other means, and the applicable legal requirements.
10. WHAT CHOICES DO I HAVE REGARDING MY PERSONAL INFORMATION?
We generally use your information as described in this Privacy Policy or as authorized by you or as otherwise disclosed at the time we request such information from you. You generally must “opt in” and give us permission to use your information for any other purpose.
Marketing Communications.
If you have opted in to receiving marketing communications from us, you can choose not to receive these communications by clicking on the unsubscribe mechanism in each communication. It may take several business days to register a change to your communication preferences.
Do Not Track.
The term “Do Not Track” refers to a HTTP header offered by certain web browsers to request that websites refrain from tracking the user. We take no action in response to automated Do Not Track requests. However, if you wish to stop such tracking, please contact us with your request, using our contact details provided below.
Withdrawing Consent.
You may withdraw your consent to our collection, use, and disclosure of your personal information as explained in this Privacy Policy at any time on reasonable written notice to us, subject to legal or contractual restrictions. To withdraw your consent, you may contact us in writing using the contact information in Section 13 of this Privacy Policy. If you withdraw your consent to our collection, use, and disclosure of your personal information for purposes that are integral to our provision of the Service, then you might not be able to proceed with your intended use of the Service or otherwise access, use, or receive the full benefit of the Service.
If you withdraw your consent to our collection, use, and disclosure of your personal information for purposes that are not integral to our provision of the Service, then withdrawing your consent for those purposes will not affect your access to or use of the Service.
11. HOW CAN I ACCESS AND CORRECT MY PERSONAL INFORMATION?
If you want to review, verify, correct or request erasure of your personal information, object to the processing of your personal information, or request that we transfer a copy of your personal information to another party, please contact hi@hardmarket.com.
Such updates, corrections, changes and deletions will have no effect on other personal information that we maintain, or personal information that we have provided to third parties, in accordance with this Privacy Policy prior to such update, correction, change or deletion. To protect your privacy and security, we may take reasonable steps (such as requesting a unique password) to verify your identity before granting you profile access or making corrections. You are responsible for maintaining the secrecy of your unique password and account information at all times.
You should be aware that it may not be technologically possible to remove each and every record of the personal information you have provided to us from our system. The need to back up our systems to protect information from inadvertent loss means that a copy of your personal information may exist in a non-erasable form that will be difficult or impossible for us to locate. After receiving your request, we will use commercially reasonable efforts to update, correct, change, or delete, as appropriate, your personal information stored in databases we actively use and other readily searchable media as appropriate, as soon as and to the extent reasonably practicable.
If you have an account with us, you may be able to update or change your personal information in your account using the functionalities available through the platform or by contacting our customer service representatives. Some of the personal information in your account is mandatory but other information is optional. You must ensure that all of your personal information in your account is and remains accurate, current, and complete. You are responsible for maintaining the secrecy of your unique password and account information at all times.
12. HOW WILL I KNOW IF THERE ARE ANY CHANGES TO THIS PRIVACY POLICY?
We may revise this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will not make changes that result in significant additional uses or disclosures of your personal information without providing notice to you such as via email or website posting. We may also make non-significant changes to this Privacy Policy that generally will not significantly affect our use of your personal information, for which your opt-in is not required. We encourage you to check this page periodically for any changes. If any non-significant changes to this Privacy Policy are unacceptable to you, you must immediately contact us and, until the issue is resolved, stop using the Service.
13. WHO DO I CONTACT IF I HAVE ANY PRIVACY QUESTIONS?
If you have any questions or comments about this Privacy Policy, please contact: hi@hardmarket.com