Privacy Policy

Fondant Privacy Policy

Last Updated: 2025-02-28

Your privacy is very important to us. This Privacy Policy explains what information Fondant collects, how we use it, and your choices regarding your data. We aim to keep this policy straightforward and transparent, using simple language instead of legal jargon.

By using Fondant’s desktop or web app, you agree to the collection and use of information as described in this Privacy Policy. If you do not agree, please discontinue use of the app. We may update this policy from time to time, and we will notify you of significant changes.

1. Information We Collect

We only collect information that is necessary to provide and improve our services to you. This includes:

  • Account Information: When you sign up for Fondant, we collect your email address and a username or display name (if you choose one). We may also collect your name or other contact info if you provide it, but the basic requirement is an email for account creation and communication.
  • User-Generated Content: If you create or upload content (like avatar models, images, or recordings), that content is stored on our servers so that you can access it from the app. This content is associated with your account but is not shared publicly unless you choose to share it.
  • Usage Data: We collect data about how you use Fondant. This can include interactions within the app, features you use, session duration, and other analytics. It may also include basic technical information, such as your device type, operating system, IP address, and browser type when using our web app. This information helps us understand user engagement and improve our service.
  • Payment Information: (Applicable in the future when we offer paid features.) If you decide to purchase a subscription or other paid feature, we (or our third-party payment processor) will collect payment details. This could include your credit card number or other payment account information, as well as billing name and address. Note: Fondant itself does not store your full payment card information on our servers. Payments will be handled by a secure third-party processor like Stripe, which specializes in handling payment data safely. We will receive confirmation of payment and some details (like the last four digits of your card or a transaction ID), but not your sensitive card number or CVV.

We do not collect any sensitive personal data that is not necessary for providing the service. For example, we do not ask for your social security number, government IDs, or personal biometrics. If you contact customer support, we may collect the information you choose to give us in that interaction (like an email address and the content of your support request).

2. How We Use Your Information

Fondant uses the information we collect for the following purposes:

  • Providing the Service: We use your data to operate Fondant and provide features to you. For example, your email and password let you log in; your user content is stored and retrieved to display your avatars; and usage data allows the app to function correctly and show you relevant options.
  • Improving Fondant: We analyze usage data and feedback to understand how users interact with our app. This helps us fix bugs, make performance improvements, and decide what new features to build. For instance, if we see that a certain feature is slow or rarely used, we might work on enhancing it.
  • Communications: We use your email address to send important updates and announcements about Fondant. This includes confirmation emails (for sign-up or password resets), service notifications, and information about new features or changes. We might also send newsletters or promotional emails about Fondant, but you can opt out of those if you prefer. (We won’t spam you – our goal is to send communications that are useful.)
  • Customer Support: If you reach out with questions or issues, we will use your contact information and any details you provide to help resolve your problem.
  • Payments and Transactions: If you make a purchase, we use your payment information to process that transaction (through our payment partner). We also keep records of your purchases and subscriptions so we can manage your account (like knowing when your subscription expires or verifying that a payment went through).
  • Legal Compliance and Security: We may use or disclose information to comply with legal obligations, resolve disputes, enforce our Terms and Conditions, or protect the rights, property, or safety of Fondant, our users, or the public. For example, if required by law enforcement with appropriate documentation, we might have to provide user information as required by law. We also use data (like IP addresses or activity logs) to detect and prevent fraudulent or abusive behavior on our service and to ensure the security of accounts.

We will not use your personal information for any purpose that is not compatible with the above without asking for your consent first.

Importantly, Fondant does not use your personal data or uploaded content for any AI training or machine learning purposes without your permission. At this time, Fondant does not employ any AI systems to generate content, so your data is not being fed into any AI models. If in the future we consider using user data to train an AI or provide AI-driven features, we will update this policy and ask for appropriate consent.

3. Sharing of Information

We understand that your information is important, and we treat it with care. Here’s who we share data with (and who we do not share with):

  • No Selling of Data: We do not sell or rent your personal information to third parties for marketing or any other purposes. Your data is yours, and we don’t give it away for others’ profit.
  • Service Providers: We use a few trusted third-party companies to help us run Fondant. For example, we may use cloud hosting providers to store data, an email service to send out communications, analytics services to understand app usage, or payment processors to handle transactions. These providers will have access to the personal information needed to perform their functions (for instance, our email service needs to use your email to send you a message, or our cloud host stores your data on their servers). However, they are not allowed to use your information for anything other than providing services to us. We have agreements in place to ensure your data remains protected. For example, if we use Stripe as a payment processor, Stripe will process your payment information under its strict security protocols, and we only receive minimal information about the transaction.
  • With Your Consent: Beyond the necessary service providers, we will only share your information with third parties if you give us explicit consent to do so. For instance, if we ever partner with another company for a special feature and you opt in to share data with that service, we would do so only with your knowledge and permission.
  • Legal Requirements: We may disclose your information if required to do so by law or in response to valid requests by public authorities (like a court order, subpoena, or government demand). We will only share the specific data that we are compelled to provide. Also, if we believe in good faith that disclosure is necessary to protect our rights, protect your safety or the safety of others, investigate fraud, or respond to a government request, we may share information under those circumstances.
  • Business Transfers: If Fondant, Inc. is involved in a merger, acquisition, sale of assets, or similar corporate transaction, user information (which is one of our business assets) may be transferred to the acquiring entity. If that happens, we will ensure the successor respects your rights and this Privacy Policy, and we will notify you (for example, via email or a notice on our website) of any such change and any choices you may have regarding your information.

Public Sharing: As a rule, we do not publicly share any of your personal information or user-generated content. The only exception is content you choose to share publicly. For instance, if Fondant later includes a community gallery and you choose to publish one of your avatars to that gallery, then that avatar image and your chosen display name might be visible to others. But that is under your control. By default, the things you create in Fondant are private to your account.

4. Cookies and Tracking

Fondant’s web application uses cookies and similar technologies to provide and improve our service. A “cookie” is a small text file that our site saves on your computer or device when you visit. We use cookies for a few reasons:

  • Essential Cookies: These are necessary for the website to function. For example, when you log in on the web app, a cookie might keep you logged in as you navigate, so you don’t have to re-enter your password on every page.
  • Analytics Cookies: We use these to understand how users visit and use our site. For instance, we might use Google Analytics or a similar tool that sets cookies to track page views, session duration, or other usage metrics. This information comes to us in aggregate form (e.g., overall usage patterns) and helps us improve Fondant.
  • Preferences: If our web app offers preferences (like your choice of language or theme), we might use cookies to remember those settings so your experience is consistent.

You have control over cookies. Most web browsers automatically accept cookies, but you can usually modify your browser setting to decline cookies or alert you when a cookie is being placed on your device. However, please note that if you disable cookies entirely, some parts of the Fondant web app may not function properly (for example, you might not be able to log in or certain features may not remember your settings).

Fondant does not use cookies for third-party advertising or tracking across different websites, since we currently do not show external ads in the app. We also do not embed third-party social media cookies in our app. All the cookies we use are primarily to ensure our service works and to gather analytics for our own understanding.

5. Data Storage and Security

Data Storage Location: The data we collect (including personal information and user content) is stored on secure servers. These may be operated by third-party cloud providers located in the United States. By using Fondant, users from other countries acknowledge that their data may be transferred to and stored in the U.S. We comply with applicable data protection laws when transferring data internationally, and we take steps to ensure your data is treated securely.

Security Measures: We take reasonable measures to protect your personal information from loss, theft, misuse, and unauthorized access or disclosure. These measures include technical, administrative, and physical safeguards. For example, we use encryption to protect data in transit (HTTPS for our website to secure data between your browser and our servers) and encryption at rest for sensitive information. We limit access to personal data to authorized personnel who need it to perform their job (for example, customer support or engineers fixing an issue) and all such access is logged. Our third-party providers are also chosen for their strong security practices (e.g., our payment processor is PCI-DSS compliant for handling credit card data).

However, it’s important to note that no method of transmission over the internet or electronic storage is 100% secure. While we strive to protect your information, we cannot guarantee absolute security. Please understand that any transmission of data is at your own risk. We also encourage you to help keep your data safe: use a strong, unique password for your Fondant account, and notify us if you suspect any unauthorized access to your account.

In the event of a data breach that affects your personal information, we will notify you and the appropriate authorities as required by law. We will also take immediate steps to address the breach and improve our systems to prevent future incidents.

6. Data Retention

We retain your personal information only for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes outlined in this Privacy Policy, unless a longer retention period is required or permitted by law. In practice, this means:

  • Account information (like your email, profile info) is kept for as long as your account exists. If you delete your account or if it has been inactive for a very long time, we will remove or anonymize this information, unless we are required to keep it for legal reasons.
  • User-generated content is stored until you delete it or delete your account. If you remove specific content from your account (for example, delete an avatar design), it will no longer be accessible to you. We might keep backup copies for a short period (in case you deleted it by accident and need it recovered, or to ensure our backups run properly), but we will purge deleted content from our active systems within a reasonable timeframe.
  • Usage data (analytics) is typically aggregated and anonymized, and we may retain aggregate analytics indefinitely to help us with long-term business decisions. This data cannot be easily linked back to an individual user.
  • Payment records are kept as long as needed for auditing and tax purposes. For example, if you made purchases, we may keep a record of those transactions for a number of years as required by finance and tax regulations, even if you delete your account, but we would not keep your personal info beyond what is necessary for those records.

If you wish to delete your account or personal data, you can request that (see Section 8 below). Upon such request, we will delete or anonymize your data, except for information we are required to keep by law or for legitimate business purposes (e.g., record of a purchase, or retaining data to enforce our rights).

7. Children’s Privacy

Fondant is not intended for children under the age of 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13 years old. If you are under 13, please do not use Fondant or provide any information about yourself to us. If we learn that we have collected personal data from a child under 13, we will take steps to delete that information as soon as possible.

For minors over 13 (or the applicable age in your country) who are using Fondant with parental consent, we still prioritize protecting their data. Parents or guardians should supervise the child’s use of the app and understand that personal data (as described above) will be collected. If you are a parent or guardian and you believe we have information about a child under the minimum age, please contact us so we can delete it.

Users in certain regions may have higher age requirements (for example, 16 in parts of the EU) due to local data protection laws. We aim to respect those laws. If we become aware that we have unknowingly collected data from someone under the required minimum age for their region, we will delete it.

8. Your Rights and Choices

You have rights and choices when it comes to your personal information. We have tried to make exercising these rights as straightforward as possible:

  • Access and Portability: You have the right to request a copy of the personal data we hold about you. In many cases, you can simply view much of this data by logging into your account (for example, your profile information or content). If you need a more detailed export, contact us and we will provide you with a copy of your data in a common format, within a reasonable timeframe.
  • Correction: If any personal information we have is inaccurate or outdated, you have the right to correct it. You can do this by editing your profile in the app (for basics like your display name) or by contacting us to request an update.
  • Deletion: You have the right to request deletion of your personal data. You can delete some information directly (for example, remove content you’ve uploaded). To delete your entire account and associated data, you can use any provided account deletion function in the app, or contact us at our support email with your request. Upon verification of your identity (to protect against fraudulent requests), we will delete your account and data, except for information we are required to retain (as noted in Data Retention). Please note that deletion is permanent, and we won’t be able to recover your account or content afterward.
  • Withdrawal of Consent: If we are processing any personal data based on your consent, you have the right to withdraw that consent at any time. For example, if you consented to receive marketing emails, you can opt out via the unsubscribe link in those emails or in your account settings. Withdrawing consent will not affect the lawfulness of any processing we did before your withdrawal.
  • Objection and Restriction: In certain cases, you may have the right to object to or restrict our processing of your data. For example, if you believe our use of your data is not legitimate, or you want us to hold on to data while you have a legal dispute, let us know. We will consider such requests and comply if required by law.
  • California/CCPA Rights: If you are a California resident, you may have additional rights under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), such as the right to know categories of information collected, the right to know categories of third parties we share information with, and the right to not be discriminated against for exercising privacy rights. We do not sell personal information, so the “Do Not Sell” provision is not applicable. If you have specific questions about CCPA, feel free to contact us.
  • GDPR Rights: If you are in the European Economic Area (EEA) or a similar jurisdiction with GDPR-type laws, you have rights including access, rectification, erasure, restriction, objection, and data portability as described above. Fondant, Inc. is the “data controller” for your personal information. Our legal basis for collecting and using personal data will depend on the context – generally, it’s to fulfill our contract to provide you the service, our legitimate interest in improving our services, or your consent (for things like marketing emails).

To exercise any of these rights, or if you have any privacy-related questions or concerns, please contact us (see Contact section below). We will respond within a reasonable time frame and in accordance with applicable law. In your request, please clarify which right you wish to exercise and the scope of the request. We may need to verify your identity before fulfilling certain requests, to ensure we don’t modify or release personal data to someone impersonating you.

9. Third-Party Links and Services

Fondant may contain links to third-party websites or services – for example, a link to a tutorial video on YouTube, or integration to stream your avatar via another platform. If you follow a link to any third-party service, please be aware that those have their own privacy policies and terms. We do not control and are not responsible for the content or data practices of any third-party sites or services. We encourage you to review the privacy policies of any third-party services you interact with.

Similarly, if we use third-party integrated services within Fondant (for instance, an embedded YouTube player or logging in via a service like Google or Discord in the future), those services might collect data as part of their operation (such as YouTube may collect viewing stats). We will inform you when a third-party service is involved in your user experience. This Privacy Policy only covers data that Fondant, Inc. collects and processes; it does not cover any third-party’s own data practices.

10. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update our Privacy Policy from time to time as our services evolve or as laws change. If we make material changes to how we handle your personal information, we will notify you by appropriate means – for example, by posting a prominent notice on our website or app, or by emailing you if the change is significant. The “Last Updated” date at the top will reflect when the latest changes were made.

We encourage you to review this Privacy Policy periodically. If you continue to use Fondant after changes to this policy are posted, it means you accept those changes. For any significant changes, we will give you a chance to review the updated policy. If you disagree with the changes, you may need to stop using Fondant or adjust your settings.

11. Contact Us

If you have any questions, comments, or concerns about this Privacy Policy or about Fondant’s handling of your personal data, please reach out to us. We are committed to resolving any issues and hearing feedback from our community.

Contact Information:

Email: support@fondant.gg

We’re here to help and will do our best to answer your questions promptly and transparently.

Thank you for reading our Privacy Policy. Your trust is important to us, and we’re dedicated to keeping your information safe and secure as you create and stream with Fondant. Enjoy bringing your virtual avatar to life, and happy streaming!