Privacy & Cookie Policy

    Last Updated: July 7, 2026

    At Bear Claws Academy of Music (“we,” “us,” or “our”), we are committed to protecting the privacy and security of our students, parents, guardians, and website visitors. This Privacy & Cookie Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your data when you visit our website, bearclawsacademyofmusic.com, register for music lessons, or complete payments through our platform.

    Please read this policy carefully. If you do not agree with the terms outlined below, please discontinue your use of the site.

    1. Information We Collect

    We collect information that is necessary to coordinate music schedules, process tuition, and optimize our website experience.

    Information You Voluntarily Provide to Us

    When you register a student for instrument or voice lessons, fill out an inquiry form, or purchase classes, we may collect personal information, including:

    • Parent/Guardian Information: First and last name, email address, phone number, and billing/mailing address.

    • Student Information: Name, age or skill level, and instrument of interest.

    • Financial Transaction Data: To complete registrations, we collect online payments through our verified third-party payment processor, PayPal. When processing payment, PayPal may collect your credit card number, billing address, and bank account information according to their own strict financial security measures. Bear Claws Academy of Music does not store or see your full financial card details on our servers.

    Information Collected Automatically via Cookies

    When you navigate our website, certain technical digital identifiers are collected automatically through cookies and tracking scripts. This includes your IP address, browser type, device type, pages viewed (such as specific instrument or lesson pages), time spent on the site, and the referring URL that directed you to us.

    2. Cookie Disclosure: What We Use and Why

    Our website uses cookies (small text files saved on your computer or mobile device) to streamline site navigation, ensure payment checkouts process securely, and evaluate website usage trends.

    We utilize the following classifications of cookies:

    • Strictly Necessary Cookies (First-Party & Third-Party): These are mandatory for basic website functions, page security, and form submissions. This category also includes critical operational cookies dropped by PayPal to authenticate users, prevent fraudulent transactions, and handle the secure processing of your online payment transaction.

    • Performance & Analytics Cookies (Third-Party): We utilize tools like Google Analytics to understand how visitors discover our academy online and which music programs attract the most local interest. These cookies collect data in an aggregate, anonymized manner that does not directly identify individual families.

    • Marketing & Local Targeting Tracking (Third-Party): We may leverage tracking elements (such as a Facebook Pixel or Google Ads tags) to evaluate the success of our local seasonal lesson enrollment campaigns and ensure relevant class advertisements are delivered to interested area families.

    3. How to Manage and Control Cookies

    You have the absolute right to accept or decline cookies. Most web browsers are configured to accept cookies by default, but you can alter your browser configuration settings to clear or block cookies at any time.

    To manage your cookie preferences directly through your web browser, consult the “Help” or “Settings” interface of your provider:

    To completely opt out of being tracked by Google Analytics across all web entities, you can install the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on.

    4. How We Use Your Information

    We process your data under legitimate business and educational interests to operate Bear Claws Academy of Music efficiently, including:

    • Processing music student registrations, managing studio lesson rosters, and coordinating instructor schedules.

    • Processing financial transactions, monthly tuition billings, and deposit verifications safely via PayPal.

    • Sending critical academy communications, including recital dates, scheduling changes, weather cancellations, and studio newsletters (you may opt-out of promotional newsletters at any time).

    • Reviewing anonymized website traffic data to identify site optimization needs.

    We do not sell, rent, trade, lease, or share family contact information or student files with outside third-party companies or corporate advertisers for their own independent marketing purposes.

    5. Children’s Privacy Notice

    While Bear Claws Academy of Music offers lessons tailored to children and youth, this website is explicitly built for use by adults (parents, legal guardians, or adult students) to arrange for instruction and manage billing. We do not knowingly collect personal data directly from children under the age of 13 through this public website. All minor data must be provided strictly by a parent or legal guardian. If we discover that a child under 13 has bypassed this framework and submitted personal data independently, it will be instantly purged from our records.

    6. Data Security and Retention

    We employ reasonable physical, electronic, and administrative security safeguards designed to prevent the loss, theft, misuse, or unauthorized modification of student files and contact records. Third-party financial transactions are executed within PayPal’s highly encrypted, secure network sandbox. We retain your personal details and registration history only for as long as necessary to fulfill the educational services requested, maintain business accounting records, or comply with statutory Connecticut business regulations.

    7. Changes to This Privacy Policy

    We reserve the right to revise or modify this Privacy & Cookie Policy at our discretion to reflect updates to academy operations or digital compliance standards. Any adjustments will be indicated by updating the “Last Updated” date displayed at the top of this page. Your continued use of the website following changes denotes your acknowledgement of the amended terms.

    8. Contact Us

    If you have any questions, regulatory inquiries, or data access requests concerning this Privacy & Cookie Policy, please contact our administrative team: