Privacy Policy私隱政策

1 · Who I am

HtPi (htpi.me and class.htpi.me) is operated by Horris Tse in Hong Kong. This policy explains what personal data I collect when you use the site, and how it is used. Questions or requests: ping@htpi.me.

2 · What I collect

• Account — your email address, name, and password (stored only as a secure hash). If you sign in with Google or Apple, I receive your email and name from that provider, never your password.
• Membership & billing — your tier and subscription status. Card payments are processed by Stripe; your card number never touches HtPi's servers. One-off class fees paid by PayMe, FPS or PayPal are recorded as payment references.
• SMS forwarding (students only, by arrangement) — HtPi lends class participants phone numbers so they can receive verification codes for the tools the class uses. If you ask us to set one up we hold the number, the email address you give us, and a label so we know whose it is. When a message arrives on that number it is forwarded to that address and the text is not stored — we keep only a log line recording the time, the numbers involved and whether the forward succeeded. Nothing is set up without asking, forwarding stops on the date you choose (or whenever you ask), and the numbers belong to HtPi's own Twilio account. If you receive a forwarded message meant for someone else, reply and we will unhook it.
• Gifting a seat — when you buy a class for someone else: your name and email, and the name and email you give for them, plus any note you write to go with it. We use their address once, to send them the gift and the link that claims it — never for anything else, and they are not added to any list. Leave their email blank and we collect nothing about them at all; the claim link comes to you to hand over. If they claim the seat, an HtPi account is created for their email if one does not already exist, and their booking is covered by the paragraph above.
• Class registration — when you reserve a seat: your name, email and a contact phone; the session, and the fee breakdown at the time you reserve. If you register companions, the name and email you give for each — so they can be seated and get their own account. If you upload a payment proof, that screenshot is kept with your booking, visible only to you and HtPi. Reserving a class creates an HtPi account for each email if one does not already exist.
• 1:1 Studio requests — when you request a one-to-one session: your name, email, an optional phone number, the time slots you propose, and the description you write of the problem you want to work on. This is used only to reply to you and arrange the session; no account is created and nothing is charged at request time.
• Enquiries — when you use the contact form: your name, email, an optional phone number, the subject you pick and the message you write. It is used only to reply to you; it does not create an account and does not add you to any mailing list.
• Content you submit — lab discussions and replies, testimonials, and anything else you choose to post.
• Class feedback — after a class you attended, a short survey: a rating out of five, three multiple-choice answers, and one optional box you may type in. Survey answers are private — they are shown only to me, are never published, and are not shown to other attendees. Answering it once opens that class's materials to you, and they stay open afterwards. Separately, and only if you rated the class four or five, you may choose to write a public testimonial; that is optional, changes nothing about your materials, and is covered by section 7.
• Usage — reading progress on articles, your language preference, and standard technical logs (such as IP address and browser type) kept for security. If you accept analytics cookies (see section 6), I also collect aggregate, non-identifying statistics about which pages are read.

3 · How it is used

• Running the service — accounts, subscriptions, class registrations, and access to class materials.
• Transactional email — verification, password resets, receipts, and class-booking messages (reservation confirmations, a payment reminder while a hold is running out, and lapse or seat-confirmation notices). If you hold a booking, I also write to everyone on that session directly about the class itself — pre-class materials and any attached files, preparation notes, and changes to the date, time or venue. These go only to people booked on that session, in the language you registered in. They are part of the service and are sent to all account holders.
• Member communications — from time to time I send newsletters, reminders when new writing is published, and information about upcoming classes. You can opt out of these at any time (see section 4).
• Moderation and safety — keeping the lab and the site healthy.

HtPi does not run third-party advertising, ad trackers, or sell-side profiling of any kind.

4 · Your email choices

Newsletters, article reminders and class announcements are optional. Every such email includes a way to unsubscribe, and you can also opt out by writing to the contact address above. Transactional messages (verification, password reset, billing) are still sent, as the service cannot operate without them.

5 · Sharing

I do not sell your data. It is shared only with the providers that run the service — Stripe for payment processing, an email delivery provider for sending mail, Cloudflare (Turnstile) to tell real visitors from bots on the contact form, and cloud hosting/database infrastructure — each receiving only what it needs. Aggregate usage data is also processed by Google (Google Analytics and Google Ads measurement); if you decline cookies this is limited to cookie-free, non-identifying signals. Either way it may be stored on servers outside Hong Kong and is never given your name or email. Data may also be disclosed where the law requires it.

Some pages embed YouTube videos using YouTube's privacy-enhanced player (youtube-nocookie.com). The player loads with the page and may start playing muted; YouTube (Google) may set its own cookies and collect playback data under its own privacy policy.

6 · Cookies & local storage

HtPi uses a session cookie to keep you signed in, and a language cookie plus browser local storage to remember your English/Chinese preference. These are essential and set without tracking you.

For analytics and ad measurement I use Google Analytics 4 with Google Consent Mode. Measurement cookies are on by default from your first visit — except for visitors in the EEA and UK, where nothing is set until you accept. They help me see which pages are read and whether an ad brought you here; your IP address is not stored. The banner lets you choose: declining (or, in the EEA/UK, not accepting) keeps measurement off, removes any of Google's cookies, and leaves only cookie-free, non-identifying signals used for aggregate statistics. Your choice is remembered in your browser (clear site data to change it), and a remembered decline applies from the very first moment of your next visit. Beyond these there are no cross-site advertising or tracking cookies.

7 · Public content

Parts of the lab are publicly readable, and approved testimonials are published with the name, title and company you provided — the submission form shows you the exact line before you send it, and you may choose to be shown by initials only. Every testimonial is read before it is published, and nothing appears without that. Please post with that in mind.

8 · Retention, account closure & discussion integrity

Your data is kept while your account is active. If you close your account or ask me to, your personal identifiers are removed. Because lab threads are conversations that other members contributed to, your posts may be retained in anonymised form — attributed to a neutral identifier such as "Former member #4F2A", with your name and account link removed. The same identifier is used across all of one author's posts (and differs between authors), so discussions stay readable without revealing who anyone was. If you want specific posts deleted outright, ask and I will accommodate where reasonable. Published testimonials are removed or anonymised on request.

9 · Your rights & security

Under Hong Kong's Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance you may request access to, and correction of, your personal data — write to the contact address above. Passwords are stored hashed, connections are encrypted (HTTPS), and access to production data is restricted.

10 · Children & changes

The service is not directed at children under 13. If this policy changes, the updated version will be posted here with a new effective date.