SLYD Group Inc. (“SLYD,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) is committed to protecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains what personal data we collect through our website and services (including the SLYD Cloud platform and any related sites or applications), how we use and share that data, and your rights and choices regarding your personal information. It also describes our use of cookies and other tracking technologies and how we secure your information. If you do not agree with our practices, please do not use our website or services.
Important Definitions
Personal Data (or Personal Information): Any information that relates to an identified or identifiable individual. This includes information like a name, contact details, unique identifiers, as well as information that can be linked to you (for example, a device IP address if it can be associated with you).
Services: All products and services offered by SLYD, including hardware sales, the SLYD Cloud marketplace services, and any related support or content.
Data Controller: The entity that determines the purposes and means of processing personal data. For purposes of GDPR and similar laws, SLYD Group Inc. is the data controller of personal data we collect from our website visitors, customers, and users – meaning we determine how and why that personal data is processed. In some contexts (such as when we host or process data on behalf of a user in the SLYD Cloud marketplace), we act as a data processor – in which case the user (e.g. a Supplier or Consumer using our Cloud platform) is the controller of that data. In those situations, this Policy may not apply to the content you (as a user) upload or process on our platform (instead, your own organization’s privacy policy might apply to that data). We clarify these roles where relevant below.
You/Your: Refers to the individual reading this Policy, who may be a visitor to our site, a customer, a user of our cloud platform (either as a provider/Supplier or consumer of compute resources), or any other data subject interacting with us.
By using SLYD’s website or services, or by voluntarily providing personal data to us, you consent to the practices described in this Privacy Policy, to the extent permitted by your local law. If you have questions about any part of this Policy, you can contact us (see Contact Information at the end).
1. Personal Data We Collect
We collect personal data in several ways: (a) information you provide to us directly; (b) information we collect automatically (e.g. through cookies or logs); and (c) information from third parties.
1.1 Information You Provide Directly
You may give us information about yourself when using our Services. This includes:
Account and Profile Information: When you sign up for an account on SLYD (for example, to use the Cloud Marketplace or make a purchase), we collect details such as your name, email address, phone number, billing address, the type of account you are registering (personal/consumer or business account), and a password. If you are registering on behalf of a business or organization, we also collect your company or organization name as part of your profile information. We use your indicated account type (and associated organization name, if provided) to tailor our services and support to your needs and to ensure we apply the appropriate terms, features, and legal protections for a personal vs. business account. If you are a Supplier on our marketplace, we might also collect additional profile information such as a display name, profile photo or logo, service descriptions, and your payout details (e.g. a PayPal account or bank information for payments). Note: Payment information like credit card numbers is typically collected and stored by our third-party payment processor, not directly by SLYD. If you are a Consumer on our marketplace and you pre-fund your account with prepaid credits, we also track your available credit balance as part of your account profile.
Purchase and Order Information: If you purchase hardware or services from us, we collect information related to the transaction. This includes details of the items/services purchased, the date and time of your purchase, amounts charged, and the payment method. Payment card information (card numbers, expiration date, etc.) is processed by our payment processors and generally not stored on our servers (except perhaps a token or last four digits for reference).
Communications: If you contact us (for example, via email, contact form, phone, or chat), we will collect the information you provide, such as your name, contact details, and the content of your inquiry or feedback. This also applies if you participate in surveys, provide testimonials or reviews, or otherwise interact with our support team. We keep records of our communications with you to help address issues and improve our services.
Content Submissions: If you post content on our platform – for example, in support tickets or, if and when such features are made available, in user forums, reviews, or comments – we collect that content. This might include text, images, or any other information you choose to submit. Please be mindful that if you post information publicly (such as in a forum or review), others may see it. You should not share sensitive personal information in public areas of our platform, and you are responsible for any personal data you make public in this way.
Supplier Verification Info: If you apply or sign up to be a compute Supplier on SLYD Cloud, we may request additional information to verify your identity and qualifications. This could include a government-issued identification document (for identity verification or tax purposes), proof of ownership or control of hardware (if relevant), or other credentials. We use this information solely for vetting, compliance (e.g. ensuring you are not in a sanctioned jurisdiction or on a denied-parties list), and as required by law.
Job Applications: If you apply for a job with SLYD through our website, we will collect the information you submit in the application process (such as your résumé/CV, contact details, employment history, etc.). That information will be used for recruitment purposes and handled according to our internal HR privacy practices, which are outside the scope of this customer-focused Privacy Policy.
1.2 Information We Collect Automatically
When you interact with our website or cloud platform, we automatically gather certain data about your visit and usage. Some of this data may be considered personal data under certain laws (for example, IP addresses or device identifiers). This data includes:
Device and Usage Information: We collect details about how you access and use our services, such as your IP address, browser type and version, device type and model (e.g. mobile or desktop, operating system version), unique device identifiers, and system language. We also log usage data like the pages or features you access, the dates/times of access, the amount of time spent on pages, and how you navigated to our site (e.g. referring URL). This information helps us analyze usage patterns and improve the user experience (for example, to debug performance issues or optimize our interface).
Cookies and Tracking Technologies: We use cookies, web beacons, pixels, and similar tracking technologies (collectively referred to as “cookies” in this Policy for simplicity) to collect information about your interactions and preferences. Cookies are small text files placed on your browser or device. They enable features like keeping you logged in, remembering site preferences, and analyzing how you use our site. We use both session cookies (which expire when you close your browser) and persistent cookies (which remain on your device for a set period or until you delete them). The types of cookies we use include:
Strictly Necessary Cookies: These are essential for the website to function correctly and securely. For example, they include session ID cookies for maintaining your login state and security cookies to authenticate requests. Without these, certain services or features (like account login or checkout) cannot be provided. These cookies do not gather information for marketing purposes.
Functional (Preferences) Cookies: These cookies remember choices you make and enhance your experience. For instance, they may remember your username, language or region, and other preferences so that you don’t have to re-enter them each time. A functional cookie might also remember if you previously visited a certain section of our site or if you prefer a specific site layout. Disabling these might affect some of the conveniences of using our site (e.g. your preferences might not be saved).
Analytics/Performance Cookies: These cookies collect information about how visitors use our site, in aggregated form. For example, we use Google Analytics to understand which pages are popular, how users move through the site, or if certain features are used. These cookies may log things like page visits, dwell time, or errors encountered. The information is typically aggregated and anonymized (for instance, Google Analytics may use cookies like _ga to distinguish users and _gid to distinguish sessions; we utilize IP anonymization with Google Analytics where applicable so that full IP addresses are not stored). We use this data to improve site performance and design.
Advertising/Marketing Cookies: Currently, SLYD does not display third-party ads on our site, so we do not use third-party ad targeting cookies in the typical sense. However, if we run SLYD promotional campaigns, we might use tracking cookies or pixels to measure their effectiveness or to retarget users with our own ads on other platforms. For example, a Facebook Pixel could inform Facebook that you visited our site, so that we can later show you a SLYD advertisement on Facebook. These cookies would collect information about your browsing behavior on our site and may combine with other information on those advertising platforms. You can opt out of these cookies via our Cookie Consent banner. (See Section 7: Cookie Policy for more details.)
Third-Party Functionality Cookies: In cases where our site integrates content or features from third parties (for example, embedding a YouTube video or providing a social media “share” button), those third parties may set cookies. For instance, if we had a Twitter share button, Twitter might set a cookie to recognize if you are logged into your Twitter account. We currently have limited third-party embedded content, but if we do, such cookies could be set by those third-party services to enable their functionality on our site.
Cookie Choices: On your first visit to our site (and periodically, as required by law or when we add new cookies), you will see a cookie consent banner or pop-up. This banner allows you to accept or reject different categories of non-essential cookies (with the exception of strictly necessary cookies, which are always active). We will remember your choice by setting a cookie preference, so you won’t see the banner on every visit. You can adjust your cookie preferences anytime via our site’s cookie settings link or by modifying your browser settings (note: blocking all cookies might impact site functionality, as discussed in our Cookie Policy below).
Log Files: Like many websites, our servers automatically record certain information in log files. This can include data such as your IP address, browser type, internet service provider (ISP), referring/exiting pages, and timestamp information (date/time of access, duration of use). We use log file information for purposes including debugging and troubleshooting, security monitoring (for example, detecting malicious activity like DDoS attacks or intrusion attempts), and compiling aggregated usage statistics (such as how many visitors we get in a day or which pages are most popular).
Location Information: We do not actively track your precise geolocation (e.g. via GPS on a mobile app) without permission. However, we can infer your general location (such as country or city) from your IP address or billing information. We use this inferred location for purposes like displaying content in the appropriate language or currency, complying with regional requirements (e.g. showing a GDPR consent banner if you appear to be in the EU), fraud prevention, and ensuring we do not offer services in prohibited or sanctioned jurisdictions. If we ever offer a mobile application that wants to use precise location data, we would ask for your permission explicitly within that app.
Do Not Track Signals: Some web browsers transmit “Do Not Track” (DNT) signals or preferences. Currently, our site does not respond differently to DNT signals alone, because there is no consensus on what DNT means and we provide our own granular cookie controls for privacy. Instead, we honor your cookie consent choices directly. However, we do respond to the Global Privacy Control (GPC) signal as described in Section 6.6 below (treating it as a CCPA opt-out of sale/sharing for California residents). In general, please use our cookie management tools or browser settings to control tracking, as those are the methods we support.
1.3 Information from Third Parties
We may receive personal data about you from third-party sources in a few situations. We treat any personal data obtained from third parties in line with this Privacy Policy (plus any additional restrictions imposed by the source of the data). Key examples include:
Service Partners (Single Sign-On/OAuth): If you choose to log in or sign up via a third-party account (for example, using Google, GitHub, or other OAuth providers), those third parties will send us certain information to facilitate account creation or authentication. Typically, this includes basic profile details like your name, email address, and possibly an avatar. We only use this information for creating your account and verifying your identity on our platform.
Payment Processors: When you make a purchase or payment through SLYD, our payment processor (such as Stripe or PayPal) provides us with confirmation and details of the transaction. For instance, we receive information like the payment method used, the last four digits of your card (for reference), the transaction ID, and whether the payment was successful. We also receive billing address or other information necessary for record-keeping, fraud prevention, and handling issues like refunds or chargebacks.
Marketing or Referral Partners: If you were referred to SLYD via a referral program or came to our service through a marketing partner or campaign, those third parties might give us information to identify the referral. For example, a partner might send us your name and email if you’ve consented, so that we can credit them with a referral or follow up with you. We ensure that such partners have a lawful basis to share your data with us (for instance, they obtained your consent).
Public Sources & Social Media: We may collect information from public databases or social media platforms. For example, if you interact with our official pages on social networks (by commenting on our post or sending us a message), we might receive your social media username and any info you make public on your profile. Additionally, if we need to investigate fraud or verify an identity, we might consult public records or online resources to cross-check information you provided.
Corporate or Enterprise Accounts: If you use SLYD through a business or enterprise account (for instance, your employer or organization sets up a SLYD account for you), that organization may provide us with information about you. This can include your work email address, name, job title, or other relevant details needed to create and manage your user account under their corporate account.
Combining Data: In some cases, we may combine information from third parties with information we collect directly from you, to ensure our records are up-to-date or to better understand your needs. For example, if a shipping company or courier updates an address or phone number for your hardware delivery, we might update our system with that new information. Similarly, if a fraud prevention service gives us a risk score or additional data about a transaction, we may combine that with our existing customer information to assess the risk. Any combined data that can identify you will still be treated as personal data under this Policy. If the third-party source imposes additional restrictions (for example, “do not use this contact info for marketing unless consented”), we will honor those restrictions.
2. How We Use Personal Data (Purposes of Processing)
We use the personal data we collect for various purposes in the operation of our business and the provision of our services. For each purpose, we also note the legal bases we rely on to process data, as required under GDPR and similar laws. In general, the primary legal grounds are: (i) to fulfill a contract or provide the service you’ve requested, (ii) with your consent, (iii) to comply with a legal obligation, or (iv) for our legitimate business interests (balanced with your rights).
2.1 Providing and Improving Our Services
Account Management: We use personal information to create, maintain, and administer your SLYD account. This includes using your credentials to authenticate you at login and enabling the features of our platform for you (such as allowing you to list a service as a Supplier or rent compute resources as a Consumer). For example, we use your email and password to log you in securely, and we might display your chosen profile name or other info to other users if you engage in marketplace transactions (according to your settings). Legal basis: Contract performance – this processing is necessary to provide the services and features you have signed up for, and to fulfill our agreement with you.
Processing Transactions: We use data to facilitate and fulfill orders, purchases, and other transactions you initiate. For instance, if you purchase hardware from us, we use your shipping address and contact info to deliver the product and provide order updates. If you rent a compute instance on the cloud marketplace, we use your account details and payment information to set up the rental and process payment. We may also provide the necessary information to the other party in the transaction – for example, informing a Supplier of the ID or username of the Consumer who has rented their resource, so the Supplier can provide the service and keep proper records. (Note: we do not share sensitive payment details like full credit card numbers with Suppliers; those remain with our payment processor and SLYD.) Legal basis: Contract performance (to process the transactions you request) and legitimate interests (such as ensuring payments are completed, preventing fraud, and keeping appropriate business records).
Communication (Service and Transactional): We use your contact information (email, phone number where applicable) to send you important transactional or service-related communications. These include confirmations of orders or sign-ups, receipts and invoices, shipping notifications, technical notices about the Services, updates about changes or outages, security alerts (e.g. if we detect suspicious activity on your account), and support messages in response to your inquiries. For example, we will email you when your compute instance is ready for use, or to notify you of important changes like updates to our terms or privacy practices. These communications are not promotional in nature; they are necessary for using our services. Legal basis: Contract performance (we need to communicate with you to provide the service and fulfill our obligations) and legitimate interests (keeping you informed about services you are using, ensuring customer satisfaction and awareness).
Improvement and Development: We analyze personal data and usage data to understand how our Services are used and how we can improve them. For example, we might review user feedback or support tickets to identify common pain points, or analyze usage logs to see which features are most popular or where users encounter errors. We also use data like website analytics and session recordings (if used) to debug issues and optimize our user interface and infrastructure. Additionally, feedback you provide through surveys or beta testing programs may be used to develop new features or enhance existing ones. In some cases, we may aggregate or anonymize data so it no longer identifies any individual, and use that aggregated data to generate insights (e.g. overall usage trends) that help us improve our services. Legal basis: Legitimate interests – it is in our interest (and we believe in the interest of our users) to continually improve our offerings and ensure the platform is user-friendly and efficient. We take steps to minimize the privacy impact, such as using aggregated data wherever possible.
Personalization: We may use personal data to personalize and tailor your experience on SLYD. This can include recommending relevant services or listings (for example, suggesting compute instances that match the types of workloads you’ve run in the past), customizing how content is presented to you (such as showing the website in your preferred language or showing pricing in your local currency), and remembering your preferences (like whether you prefer a dark mode theme or have opted out of certain notifications). We also use cookies to save certain preferences so that they persist between sessions. Legal basis: Legitimate interests – to provide an optimized and customized experience for our users, which can improve usability and satisfaction. In certain cases where required by law (for example, using cookies for personalization or targeted content in jurisdictions that require consent), we rely on your consent for those specific activities.
Security and Fraud Prevention: Keeping our platform secure and preventing misuse is a top priority. We use personal data such as account information, device information, and usage logs to monitor for suspicious or malicious activity and to enforce our Terms of Service and Acceptable Use Policy. This includes activities like: authenticating user access and detecting unauthorized access attempts; detecting multiple accounts or anomalies that might indicate fraud or abuse; investigating potentially fraudulent transactions or account activities; and generally protecting the rights, property, and safety of SLYD, our users, and the public. For example, we might use your IP address and device fingerprint to recognize if a single person is creating multiple accounts to abuse promotions, or we might utilize automated systems that flag accounts showing patterns consistent with credit card fraud. We also may conduct manual reviews or use third-party fraud detection services. Additionally, if necessary, we might use methods like phone verification (e.g. sending a verification code via SMS or a voice call) for large transactions or if our systems detect high risk. Legal basis: Legitimate interests – protecting our business, platform, and users from security threats, fraud, and illegal activity is in our legitimate interest (and often also benefits the user community). In some cases, processing for security is also done under legal obligations (for instance, complying with laws requiring certain security measures or fraud monitoring), or to establish or defend legal claims.
Facilitating User Interactions: SLYD Cloud operates as a marketplace, which may, in future iterations, include limited user interaction features as part of the service offering. While direct messaging between users (e.g., Suppliers and Consumers) is not currently available, we may introduce community or engagement features such as forums, Q&A sections, public comments, or review functionality. In connection with these anticipated features, we may process certain personal data—such as usernames, avatars, and any user-submitted content—to display or publish that content within publicly viewable or platform-accessible areas, consistent with user expectations and choices. These features are intended to support a limited degree of user expression, information sharing, and service feedback within the bounds of the platform. Legal basis: Contract performance – should these interaction features be implemented, the processing of personal data necessary to support them (e.g., displaying profile elements or user-contributed content) will be conducted to fulfill our service obligations to users and deliver the expected functionality of the marketplace environment.
2.2 Marketing and Promotional Purposes
We may use personal data for marketing and promotional communications, but we are mindful of your choices and applicable laws regarding such messages. Specifically:
Newsletters & Product Updates: With your consent (where required, or as otherwise permitted by law), we may use your email address or other contact info to send you marketing communications. These may include newsletters, product announcements, blog updates, industry news related to our services, or special offers and promotions from SLYD. For example, if you sign up on our website to receive updates, or if you become a customer, we might occasionally send you emails about new SLYD features or upcoming promotions that could interest you. You have the option to unsubscribe from these emails at any time (see Section 6.4 on managing communication preferences). We do not send these marketing emails unless you have an existing relationship with SLYD or have indicated interest, in accordance with anti-spam laws.
Personalized Advertising (Retargeting): We do not sell your data to advertisers, nor do we display third-party ads on our platform that would involve sharing your personal information with advertisers. However, we may engage in targeted advertising for SLYD’s own services on other platforms. For instance, we might use your information to show you SLYD advertisements on third-party websites or social media platforms (such as Google, Facebook/Meta, LinkedIn, etc.). This could involve uploading a hashed portion of our email list to an ad platform to create a “custom audience” (so that the platform can match and show ads to those users, without revealing the actual emails), or using cookies/pixels on our site that let us later target visitors with ads. For example, if you visited our pricing page, we might later use a retargeting cookie to show you a SLYD ad on another site reminding you of our service. These tactics involve cookies or similar tracking technologies and are done in accordance with your consent choices (we will not set advertising cookies if you have opted out). They help us reach people who have already shown interest in SLYD and are part of our legitimate interest in growing our business. Note: Even in these cases, the information shared with ad platforms is limited (often hashed or aggregate) and only used for SLYD’s campaigns, not for the third party’s own purposes.
Referrals and Rewards: If you participate in a referral program or promotion (for example, referring a friend to SLYD to earn credits, or being referred by an existing user), we will use personal data to track and fulfill those programs. This typically means we’ll record who referred whom, and we might send a thank-you or reward to the referrer when a referral is successful. For instance, if your friend refers you, we might email them when you sign up or make a purchase to let them know they earned a reward. This inherently uses both your and your friend’s information (like names or user IDs) for the purpose of administering the referral program. We will provide details of what data is used and shared when you choose to participate in such a program, and we will only use the data for that program’s intended purpose.
Contests, Surveys, and Events: If you enter a contest or sweepstakes we run, or if you fill out a survey or attend an event (webinar, workshop, etc.) we host, we will use the information you provide for those specific purposes. For example, if you enter a giveaway, we’ll use your contact info to reach you if you win and to deliver your prize, and possibly to announce the winner (with consent, if required). If you respond to a survey, we’ll collect your responses to improve our services or research a particular topic, and we might contact you to follow up on feedback. Any contest or survey will have its own terms or disclosures about how the data will be used. Unless stated otherwise, we’ll not use your name or responses publicly without permission (aside from perhaps generic statements like “Contest winner is from X country”).
Legal bases for marketing: For email and direct marketing, we rely on consent where required or on permissible exceptions (for example, in some jurisdictions it’s allowed to send marketing to existing customers about similar products, under a “soft opt-in”, as long as an opt-out is provided). For any cookies or tracking used for advertising, we also rely on consent where legally required. In other cases, we rely on legitimate interests – specifically, the interest in promoting our services and growing our business. We balance this with your rights by providing clear opt-outs. If at any time you don’t want marketing contact, you can opt out as described in Section 6.4, and we will honor that choice.
2.3 Legal Compliance and Business Operations
Compliance with Laws and Regulations: We may need to process and retain personal data to comply with various legal obligations. These include obligations under tax and financial laws (for instance, keeping records of purchases and transactions for accounting and tax reporting), export control and sanctions laws (for instance, we might check user information against government sanctions lists to ensure we are not providing services to prohibited parties or regions), and other regulatory requirements applicable to our business. We also process personal data when you exercise your privacy rights under law (for example, if you send us a GDPR data access request, we will use your information to verify and fulfill that request, which is itself a legal obligation for us). Additionally, if we receive lawful requests from public authorities (such as subpoenas, court orders, or requests under national security or law enforcement directives), we may be required to disclose personal data as described in Section 3.4. Legal basis: Legal obligation – processing is necessary for us to comply with the laws to which SLYD is subject. In some cases, compliance overlaps with legitimate interests (for example, keeping records beyond the legal minimum to protect our rights), but generally we will not delete data that we are required to keep by law, even if you request erasure, until that legal obligation is fulfilled.
Internal Reporting and Analytics: We might use personal data in an aggregated or analytical form to conduct internal business analysis. For instance, we may generate reports on our business performance that include data points like the number of users in each region, the percentage of customers using a particular feature, or revenue broken down by service line. Wherever possible, we use anonymized or aggregated data for these purposes, so that the reports do not identify individuals. If any personal data is used, it is minimal and limited to what is necessary for the analysis. These activities help us understand the health of our business, allocate resources, and plan our strategy. Legal basis: Legitimate interests – running and understanding our business operations is a legitimate interest. We ensure that using personal data for this purpose has minimal privacy impact (through aggregation and strict internal controls).
Corporate Transactions: In the event of a corporate transaction such as a merger, acquisition, sale of company assets, reorganization, financing, or in the unlikely situation of bankruptcy or receivership, personal data may be transferred or disclosed as part of that transaction. For example, if SLYD (or substantially all of its assets) is acquired by another company, the personal data of our users would typically be one of the assets transferred so that the service can continue under the new owner. In such cases, we will ensure that the new owner is contractually bound to handle your personal data in a manner that is consistent with this Privacy Policy (or we will inform you of changes and choices if a different policy will apply). We will also transfer any privacy-related consents or preferences you have given, so that the successor honors them. If a transaction results in a material change in how your personal data will be used, we will notify you and, if required by law, obtain your consent or give you the opportunity to opt-out. Legal basis: Legitimate interests – we have a legitimate interest in being able to engage in corporate transactions and transitions as a business. When doing so, we still respect your rights and protect your data per this Policy.
Enforcing Our Rights and Agreements: We may process personal data as needed to enforce our Terms of Service, Acceptable Use Policy, and other agreements, and to pursue available remedies or defend legal claims. This includes using data to investigate and address violations of our terms or policies (for example, using logs and account information to verify reports of misuse), and using information in connection with legal action (such as collecting debts you owe, handling disputes or litigation involving users, or responding to insurance claims). If a user violates our agreements or engages in behavior that threatens our business (for instance, harassing our staff, posting defamatory content, or infringing on our intellectual property), we may use that person’s information in connection with actions to enforce our rights and protect ourselves or others. Legal basis: Legitimate interests – enforcing legal agreements and protecting our interests are legitimate interests for SLYD. Additionally, when this overlaps with legal proceedings, processing may be necessary for the establishment, exercise, or defense of legal claims, which is a lawful basis under GDPR and other laws.
2.4 Data Minimization and Purpose Limitation
We adhere to principles of data minimization and purpose limitation. This means we strive to only collect personal data that we need for the purposes described in this Policy, and not for other, incompatible purposes. We will not use your personal data for new purposes that are not disclosed here unless we obtain your consent, or unless we have a clear legal justification to do so (for example, an overriding legitimate interest or a legal requirement). If we decide to process your data for a purpose that is significantly different from the purposes outlined above, we will update this Privacy Policy and notify you as required by law (and obtain consent where necessary).
Additionally, we aim to retain personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes for which it was collected, or as required by law. For specific retention practices, see Data Retention in Section 5 below.
3. How We Share Personal Data
We understand that sharing your personal data with others is a sensitive matter. SLYD does not sell your personal information to third parties for monetary consideration. We only share personal data in the following contexts, which are necessary to run our business and provide our services, or as otherwise described here.
3.1 Service Providers (Processors)
We use trusted third-party companies to perform certain business-related functions on our behalf – these third parties are often called “service providers” or “processors”. They only receive the personal data necessary to perform their specific services, and they are contractually obligated to process that data securely and only for our instructed purposes, consistent with this Privacy Policy. Key categories of service providers we use include:
Payment Processors: e.g. Stripe, PayPal. These providers handle payment transactions (such as credit card processing, ACH transfers, and other payment methods) for purchases of our hardware or cloud services. They receive billing information and payment details when you make a payment. We rely on them to securely process your payments in compliance with financial regulations (they are typically PCI-DSS compliant for handling card data). We do not store full payment card numbers on our systems; that information goes directly to our payment processors. The processors may store your payment details (tokenized) to facilitate future transactions, but they cannot use your personal data for any purpose other than processing payments for us.
Cloud Hosting and IT Infrastructure: e.g. Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, or similar. We host our websites, databases, and application data on third-party cloud servers and infrastructure. This means that personal data (from account info to content you store with us) may be stored on their servers. However, these providers do not have routine access to your data for their own use – they merely store or process it as needed to keep our services running. We apply security measures like encryption and access control so that even our cloud hosting providers cannot arbitrarily access personal data. These providers are generally large reputable companies with robust physical and network security. We have agreements (including data processing addenda) in place to ensure they only process data as instructed by us.
Email and Communication Tools: e.g. SendGrid, Mailchimp, Twilio, or similar. We use email delivery services to send out transactional emails (like verification codes, receipts, or support responses) and, if applicable, newsletter or marketing emails. For instance, SendGrid might handle the sending of an account verification email, which means SendGrid sees the recipient’s email address and the content of that message. Similarly, if we send SMS messages (for two-factor authentication or alerts), a service like Twilio would process the recipient’s phone number and message content. These communications providers are only allowed to use your information to send the communications on our behalf.
Analytics and Performance Monitoring: e.g. Google Analytics, Mixpanel, or similar analytics platforms. These services help us understand user behavior on our site or app. They may set cookies or use tracking code to collect data about usage (as described in Section 1.2). For example, Google Analytics collects information like your IP address (truncated or anonymized in certain regions), device info, and browsing actions on our site, and provides us with aggregated reports. We do not allow our analytics providers to use the data for their own purposes – it’s only for our analysis. IP addresses collected by Google Analytics in the EU are anonymized, and we generally configure analytics to avoid collecting any directly identifying information (like names or emails) through those tools. We may also use internal tools or open-source analytics that run on our own servers for similar purposes.
Customer Support Systems: e.g. Zendesk, Intercom, or other ticketing and live chat systems. If we use a customer support helpdesk or chat widget on our site, the provider of that software will process any information you submit through it. For example, if you email our support or use a chat tool, the content of your message and your contact details will be stored in the helpdesk system so our support team can respond. These providers typically have access to the communications content, but only to provide the service (they won’t read your support tickets except as necessary for things like troubleshooting their service or if we ask them to for technical support).
Identity Verification and Fraud Prevention Services: We may use third-party services to help verify user identities or screen for fraud and security risks. For instance, we might use a service that can verify government ID documents or check user information against public watchlists (to comply with anti-money laundering and sanctions laws). If so, that service would receive whatever information is necessary (perhaps your name, address, or an encrypted scan of your ID) and provide us with a verification result or fraud risk score. Another example is using services that fingerprint devices or monitor for suspicious behavior to prevent automated abuse. These providers use the data strictly to give us insights on trust and safety – they do not retain or use it for other purposes.
Shipping and Logistics Partners: If you purchase physical hardware from SLYD, we partner with shipping and logistics companies to fulfill your order. This includes carriers like FedEx, UPS, DHL, or freight and customs brokers for international shipments. We will share your shipping name and delivery address with these partners, as well as your phone number or email if required for delivery notifications or customs clearance. The shipping label and customs documentation will also include necessary details (your name, address, and a description of the items with their value) to comply with shipping and import/export laws. These partners use your information solely to transport and deliver your purchased products and handle any required import/export processing.
Marketing and Advertising Partners: If we engage in marketing campaigns, we may use services to manage those campaigns. For example, if we send out a marketing newsletter, we might use an email marketing platform (which would handle the email list and distribution). If we do targeted advertising, we might use ad platforms or social media networks as described in Section 2.2. In those cases, the “partners” (like Facebook, Google Ads, LinkedIn) receive information like hashed email addresses or cookie identifiers to match our users within their platforms for the purpose of showing our ads. We ensure that any such partners are not allowed to use that data for their own independent purposes beyond assisting with our specific campaign. We also honor any opt-outs or choices you’ve made (for instance, if you opt out of marketing emails, we won’t include you in a list uploaded to an ad partner for retargeting).
Other Vendors: We may employ other specialized vendors for things like data backup services, cybersecurity monitoring, or consulting services. They may on occasion process data (for example, a security company might have access during a threat investigation, or a backup storage provider holds encrypted backups of our database). In all cases, we carefully vet vendors for their security practices and require that they commit to confidentiality and data protection obligations.
We employ Data Processing Agreements (DPAs) with vendors where required by GDPR or other laws, which contractually bind them to protect personal data and use it only for the services requested. We only share the minimum information that the service provider needs to carry out their function, and we work only with reputable providers that have demonstrated strong data protection standards.
3.2 Affiliates and Corporate Group
SLYD Group Inc. may, in the future, have affiliates, subsidiaries, or related entities (for example, an international branch or a related company under common ownership). If so, we may share personal data within our corporate family in order to operate and provide the Services. For instance, if SLYD establishes a subsidiary in the European Union to better serve EU customers, personal data of EU users might be handled by that subsidiary (e.g. stored on EU servers or processed by EU-based staff) but still under the direction of this Privacy Policy.
Any sharing of data with an affiliate or subsidiary will follow these principles:
It will be for the same purposes outlined in this Privacy Policy (e.g. internal administration, customer support, platform operations).
If any affiliate handles personal data, it will do so under the same security standards and privacy commitments that SLYD Group Inc. upholds.
Transfers of personal data between the parent company and affiliates (especially cross-border transfers) will be governed by appropriate safeguards, such as Standard Contractual Clauses if transferring EU personal data to the U.S., as described in Section 4.
We will treat intra-group data access with the same care as external disclosures. Employees in different locations only access user data as needed and in line with this Policy.
In summary, if your data is shared within entities that are part of SLYD’s corporate structure, those entities will either follow this Privacy Policy or provide a level of protection that is at least as protective.
3.3 Sharing with Other Users in the Marketplace
Because SLYD Cloud is a marketplace platform, certain information is inherently shared between users (Consumers and Suppliers) to facilitate transactions and interaction. We design the platform to share only what is necessary, and we give you control over what you share publicly. Here’s how user-to-user data sharing works:
Supplier ↔ Consumer Transactions: When a Consumer rents or uses a Supplier’s compute resource on SLYD Cloud, the Supplier needs some information about the Consumer to provide the service and for their records, and vice versa. By default, if you are a Consumer, the Supplier will see your details of the rental (such as the type of instance, duration, usage metrics, etc.). We do not reveal your personal contact information (real name, email, etc.) to the Supplier through the platform, unless you choose to provide it in communications. Similarly, if you are a Supplier, the Consumer will see information about you such as your chosen Supplier profile name, the general location of your server (e.g. country or region, which is important for latency and data jurisdiction considerations), the hardware specifications, pricing, and performance stats of your offering, and any public profile info you provide (like a company name or logo if you include it). Consumers will not automatically get the Supplier’s direct contact info unless the Supplier provides it. The idea is that initial interactions and service delivery occur through the platform’s tools (messaging, etc.) to preserve privacy and provide accountability.
Public Profiles and Listings: If you choose to be a Supplier, much of the information you provide about your service will be public on the marketplace for any visitor or user to see. This includes the content of your service listing (e.g. the compute specs, pricing, location, uptime, etc.). For Consumers, we generally do not have a “public profile” visible to others apart from perhaps a username or display name in limited contexts (for example, if you post on a community forum or leave a review for a Supplier, other users might see your display name and maybe a general descriptor like “AI Developer from USA” if you provided such info). We encourage users to choose a username or profile that does not divulge sensitive personal info if they are concerned about privacy.
Reviews and Ratings: If the platform supports reviews/ratings of transactions (for example, a Consumer can rate a Supplier’s service or vice versa), and you choose to leave a review or feedback, that content (including any personal data you put in the review) will be shared publicly or with the other party. We may display your display name or username alongside a review you post. We will not publish things like your full real name or email in a review unless you yourself included that information in the text you wrote. Use caution and only include information you’re comfortable being public in any review or forum post.
3.4 Legal Disclosures
We may disclose personal data outside of SLYD if we believe in good faith that such disclosure is necessary for legal reasons or to protect people. This includes:
Compliance with Laws and Law Enforcement: If we receive a request from a government or law enforcement authority, and if it’s necessary to comply with a legal obligation, we may disclose whatever information is required by law. Examples include responding to court orders, subpoenas, or lawful requests related to national security or law enforcement. We carefully review each request to ensure it has a valid legal basis and is not overreaching. If a foreign (non-U.S.) government demands data, we generally will only comply if we are legally required to (such as via a mutual legal assistance treaty or other official process recognized in the U.S.). We also might disclose information if necessary to meet regulatory requirements (for instance, disclosing information to a tax authority or regulatory agency if mandated).
Protecting Rights, Safety, and Property: We might share data when we believe it’s necessary to protect the rights, property, or safety of SLYD, our users, or the public. This can include exchanging information with other companies and organizations for fraud protection and credit risk reduction. For example, if we suspect an instance of fraud, we might share details with law enforcement or with the impacted financial institution. If user activity indicates potential harm to others (such as involvement in phishing scams, threats of violence, or exploitation), we may report information to appropriate authorities. Importantly, we have zero tolerance for certain abuses – if we become aware of content or activity involving child sexual abuse material (CSAM) or exploitation of children, or terrorism-related activities, we will report such information to law enforcement immediately (as required by law and consistent with our company principles). Similarly, if someone is using our platform for other illegal activities that pose imminent harm, we will cooperate with authorities as needed to prevent that harm.
Legal Claims and Defenses: If we are involved in a legal dispute or legal process with you or a third party, we may preserve and disclose any information that is relevant to the claims or defenses at issue. For instance, if a user sues SLYD, we would use relevant data from our records to defend ourselves in court (and such data might be disclosed in legal proceedings). Or if a third party brings a claim against SLYD based on something a user did (for example, an intellectual property infringement claim or a privacy violation claim), and we need to show records or share user information as evidence, we will do so to the extent needed to address the legal matter. We will also share information with our attorneys, advisors, and insurance providers if necessary to handle a claim.
Our policy is to notify users about any legal demands for their personal data before we disclose it, unless we are prohibited by law from doing so or in rare cases where the request is an emergency. For example, if we get a subpoena for your account info, we would normally attempt to notify you (via the email on your account) to give you a chance to object, unless the subpoena explicitly forbids notification or we believe notifying you is futile or dangerous. In cases of emergency (imminent threat to life, child safety, etc.), we might act more quickly and notify you afterward if appropriate.
We also reserve the right, when appropriate, to challenge requests we believe are unlawful or overbroad. If a requesting party (like a civil litigant) could reasonably get the data directly from you, we may prefer they seek it from you first.
3.5 Business Transfers
(This is related to Section 2.3 above but reiterated here as a form of data sharing.)
If SLYD engages in a merger, acquisition, financing, reorganization, bankruptcy, or sale of some or all of our assets, your personal data may be among the assets transferred to an entity that succeeds us (the new owner) or is involved in managing our assets. In such an event, the personal data would likely remain subject to the promises made in this Privacy Policy (unless you’re notified otherwise and, if required by law, given an opportunity to opt-out). The successor company would have the rights to use and continue to process the personal data as we did, including any consents or preferences you have given.
We will make reasonable efforts to ensure the new owner or merged entity understands the importance of privacy and data protection. If the transaction results in changes to how your data is handled (for example, if the new owner plans to materially change this Privacy Policy), we will make sure you are informed of those changes. If required, we will also provide a way for you to exercise choices regarding your personal data (for instance, deleting your account if you do not wish to continue under the new ownership).
3.6 Aggregated or De-Identified Information
We may share information that has been aggregated or anonymized in such a way that it cannot reasonably be used to identify an individual. This type of data is not considered personal data. For example, we might publish blog posts or whitepapers that include statistics like "X% of our customers are located in Europe" or "the average job runtime on SLYD Cloud is Y hours." We might also share such aggregated metrics with partners, investors, or in marketing materials to illustrate usage trends or service performance.
If we ever combine or re-link aggregated/anonymous data with personal data (so that it could potentially identify an individual), we will treat the combined data as personal data and handle it in accordance with this Privacy Policy.
In summary: We share personal data only as needed for the above purposes and with adequate protections in place. We do not rent or sell your personal details to unrelated third parties for their marketing. Whenever personal data is shared externally, we aim to do so under contractual obligations of confidentiality and security. Internally, access to data is limited as described in Section 5 (Data Security).
4. International Data Transfers
SLYD operates a global platform, so your personal information may be stored or processed in countries outside of your own, including the United States. These countries might have data protection laws that are different or less stringent than those in your home jurisdiction. Where required by applicable law, we take appropriate steps to ensure an adequate level of protection for cross-border data transfers. For example, we may rely on legally-recognized transfer mechanisms such as standard contractual clauses where applicable or seek your consent for certain international transfers. Regardless of location, SLYD will strive to protect your personal data in accordance with this Privacy Policy. Please note that when your information is transferred to the U.S. or other jurisdictions, it may become subject to lawful access requests by governments, courts, or law enforcement in those countries. By using SLYD, you understand that your information may be transferred to our servers and partners in the United States and other regions as needed to provide our services. We continue to monitor international privacy developments and will implement additional safeguards or mechanisms as appropriate to maintain the security and privacy of your data worldwide.
This clause is intended to inform you of our global data handling practices in a clear way, while allowing us the flexibility to use various compliance measures without making unintended promises. SLYD remains committed to protecting your privacy and will update this section if our data transfer practices change or new transfer frameworks are adopted.
It’s important to note that when personal data is transferred to another country, it becomes subject to the laws of that country. For example, data stored in the U.S. might be accessible to U.S. government or law enforcement agencies under certain conditions (such as FISA or the CLOUD Act). While we take steps (like encryption) to protect against unauthorized access, we may not be able to prevent lawful access by authorities. We factor this into our decisions about where to store data and what services to use, especially for sensitive data.
5. Data Security
SLYD takes the security of personal data very seriously. We employ a combination of administrative, technical, and physical safeguards to protect your personal data from unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, or destruction. While no method is 100% foolproof, we strive to follow industry best practices to secure information. Below is an overview of our security measures:
Encryption: We use encryption technologies to protect data in transit and at rest. Our websites and APIs are served exclusively over HTTPS/TLS, which means that data exchanged between your device and our servers is encrypted during transmission. For sensitive data stored in our systems, we apply encryption at rest where appropriate. For example, passwords are never stored in plaintext – we hash passwords using a strong, one-way hashing algorithm (such as bcrypt or Argon2) so that even in the event of a database compromise, the original passwords are not exposed. we rely on Auth0 for authentication and user credential management, so we never store passwords directly on our servers. Auth0 uses strong, one-way hashing algorithms (such as bcrypt or Argon2) for password storage, ensuring that even if a database were compromised, the original passwords are not exposed. Similarly, for payment information, we do not store credit card numbers ourselves; our payment processors handle that. Any payment tokens or minimal info we store (like the last 4 digits of a card for reference) are stored securely. If we store other particularly sensitive personal data, we ensure it’s encrypted or tokenized.
Access Controls: We limit access to personal data on a need-to-know basis. Only SLYD employees, contractors, or agents who have a job-related need to access your information (for example, a support agent assisting you, or an engineer maintaining the system) are allowed to do so. We implement role-based access control (RBAC) in our systems, meaning each user or service has permissions set to only access the data and functions necessary for their role. All personnel with such access are bound by confidentiality obligations.
Network & Application Security: Because our platform runs on cloud infrastructure (such as AWS) rather than self-managed servers, we rely on our cloud providers’ robust security measures. These include built-in firewalls, network segmentation to isolate our systems, and continuous monitoring to detect anomalies. Data is stored in secure cloud data centers with strong physical and environmental protections provided by AWS and our other hosting partners. We ensure that all application software and dependencies under our control are kept up-to-date with security patches, while our cloud providers similarly update the underlying infrastructure to mitigate known vulnerabilities. For additional protection at the application level, we implement measures to detect and prevent malicious activity. For example, we utilize intrusion detection alerts and enforce rate-limiting rules to block suspicious IP addresses or unusual API usage patterns that could indicate an attack. Our cloud environment’s use of virtualization and containerization inherently provides tenant isolation, meaning each customer’s workloads and data are segregated so that one customer’s activities cannot affect another’s. Finally, we follow secure development best practices in our code – such as thorough input validation, output sanitization, and using trusted libraries – to prevent common web vulnerabilities like SQL injection or cross-site scripting.
Testing and Vulnerability Management: We may periodically conduct security assessments of our infrastructure and applications. This may involve penetration testing by third-party security experts, who attempt to find vulnerabilities so we can fix them. We may also run vulnerability scanning tools on our networks and systems to detect misconfigurations or out-of-date software. Any identified issues are prioritized and remediated according to severity. Additionally, we might operate a bug bounty or responsible disclosure program to encourage security researchers to report issues to us.
Data Backups and Resilience: We perform regular backups of critical data (including user data) to ensure we can recover from hardware failures, data corruption, or security incidents. Backups are encrypted and stored securely, potentially in geographically separate locations for disaster recovery. We periodically test our backups and restoration process to ensure data can be recovered. Our goal is to maintain service continuity and quickly restore availability and access to personal data in the event of a physical or technical incident (aligning with principles from regulations like GDPR, which emphasize resilience and timely restoration).
Employee Training and Policies: We train our workforce on security best practices and privacy awareness. New employees undergo security orientation, and we have ongoing training and reminders about topics like phishing avoidance, proper data handling, and incident reporting. We have internal policies that outline how to handle personal data, how to respond to potential security incidents, and the consequences of violating security protocols. All employees must agree to the company’s information security policies, and those who handle particularly sensitive data may undergo additional background checks or training.
Third-Party Assurance: When we select service providers or vendors who may have access to personal data (as discussed in Section 3.1), we perform due diligence on their security posture. We prefer vendors who have reputable security certifications or attestations (for example, ISO 27001 certification, SOC 2 Type II reports, or similar). In our contracts, we include requirements that these providers maintain appropriate security measures and notify us in the event of any breaches involving our data. We treat our vendors as extensions of our environment and expect them to meet high standards of security.
Physical Security: For any physical facilities that we operate (such as offices or any on-premise servers), we maintain physical controls like access badges, visitor logs, alarm systems, and secure locks. Only authorized personnel can access areas where personal data is stored. However, much of our infrastructure is in the cloud. Our cloud providers have robust physical security at their data centers (including 24/7 monitoring, biometric access controls, etc.), and we rely on those safeguards as part of our overall security model.
Despite all these measures, no method of transmission over the internet or method of electronic storage is completely secure. Therefore, we cannot guarantee absolute security of your data. However, we are committed to doing our best to protect your information. In the unfortunate event that we become aware of a data breach that affects your personal data, we will act promptly to mitigate the damage and will notify the affected individuals and relevant authorities as required by law. For example, if a breach meets the threshold of a “personal data breach” under GDPR or a trigger under state breach notification laws, we will provide notices without undue delay, including information on what happened and what we are doing in response.
Your role in security: We also urge you to take steps to keep your own data safe. Choose a strong, unique password for your SLYD account and do not share it with others. Consider enabling two-factor authentication (2FA) for your account if we offer it (and if we don’t yet, know that we are working towards offering such additional security). Be cautious of phishing: SLYD will never ask you for your password via email, and any urgent-sounding messages asking for personal details should be treated carefully. Always make sure you are using our official website or app when you log in (check the URL for slyd.com and that it’s served via HTTPS). If you suspect any unauthorized access to your account, notify us immediately so we can help secure it.
6. Your Rights and Choices
Depending on your jurisdiction and the applicable laws, you have certain rights regarding your personal data. Separately, we also provide all users (regardless of location) with various choices about how their data is used, particularly around marketing and cookies. We outline these rights and choices below, along with how you can exercise them. We will honor your rights to the extent required by law and in many cases even when not legally required (provided it does not conflict with other obligations).
6.1 General Rights for Users
Your Rights and Choices Depending on your location and subject to applicable law, you may have certain rights regarding the personal data we hold about you. SLYD will make best efforts to honor all reasonable privacy-related requests, even in cases where we may not be strictly legally obligated to do so, provided that fulfilling the request does not conflict with our other legal or operational obligations. The rights and choices available to you include the following:
Right to Access and Data Portability: You have the right to request confirmation of whether we are processing your personal data and to obtain a copy of that data, along with relevant information about how we use it. Upon a valid request, we will provide you with the personal information we have about you in a commonly used format. Where technically feasible and required by law, you may also request that we transfer certain of your data to another provider.
Right to Correction (Rectification): You have the right to request that we correct or update any of your personal data that is inaccurate or incomplete. We will rectify inaccurate information as required. In many cases, you can update basic account information (such as your contact details) by logging into your account settings. For other corrections, you may contact us to make the request, and we will address it as appropriate.
Right to Deletion (Erasure): You have the right to request deletion of your personal data. Upon your request, we will delete your personal information from our records unless retaining it is permitted or required by law. Please note that there are important exceptions to this right. For example, we may retain certain transaction records for accounting purposes, keep information as required to comply with legal obligations, maintain security logs, or otherwise preserve information for legitimate business purposes (such as preventing fraud or enforcing our terms). If you have an active account, deleting your account will remove your profile and personal data from our active user databases. Even after account deletion, we may keep minimal information as needed for compliance or to protect our legitimate interests (for instance, a record of a transaction without personal identifiers, or a note that an account was closed for misuse to prevent re-registration). Once your data or account is deleted, it cannot be restored and you will lose access to the services and any content or settings associated with your account. Accordingly, please only request permanent deletion if you are certain you wish to close your account.
Right to Restrict Processing: You have the right to request that we limit the processing of your personal data in certain circumstances. This right can apply, for example, if you contest the accuracy of your data (for the period it takes us to verify accuracy) or if you object to a particular processing activity. When processing is restricted, we may continue to store your personal data, but will not use it for the specific purpose you have objected to or in other ways beyond simply keeping it, unless the processing is allowed by law (for instance, to protect rights or comply with legal obligations). We will lift the restriction once the issue is resolved or the applicable period has passed.
Right to Object to Processing: You have the right to object to certain processing of your personal data, particularly where we are relying on a legitimate interest as the legal basis. If you lodge an objection, we will evaluate whether our legitimate reasons for using the data override your rights and interests. Unless we have compelling grounds to continue processing, or the processing is otherwise permitted by law, we will stop using your data for the purposes to which you object. If your objection is to processing for direct marketing purposes, we will honor it unconditionally – in other words, if you tell us to stop using your data for marketing communications or profiling, we will stop.
Right to Withdraw Consent: If we are processing any of your personal data based on your consent, you have the right to withdraw that consent at any time. Withdrawal of consent will not affect the lawfulness of any processing carried out before you withdrew, but once consent is withdrawn we will cease the specific processing that was based on consent. For example, you can opt out of marketing emails by withdrawing your consent to receive them (such as by using the “unsubscribe” link in our emails or adjusting your account preferences), and you can withdraw consent for non-essential cookies by updating your cookie settings.
Rights Related to Automated Decision-Making: Where required by law, you have the right not to be subject to a decision based solely on automated processing (without human involvement) that produces legal or similarly significant effects on you. SLYD does not currently rely on purely automated decisions that have such effects on users. If we introduce automated decision-making processes that significantly affect you, we will ensure any required safeguards are in place, including the possibility for you to request human review or to contest the decision, in accordance with applicable laws.
6.2 Opt-Out of Personal Data Sales and Sharing
We do not sell your personal data to third parties, nor do we share your personal data with unrelated third parties for their own advertising or marketing purposes. If in the future we engage in any activity that is considered a "sale" of personal information (or a similar type of data disclosure) under applicable law, we will provide you with appropriate notice and a means to opt out. In any event, you have the right to direct us not to sell your personal data, and we will honor any legitimate opt-out request.
6.3 Limitations on Use of Sensitive Personal Data
We limit our collection and use of sensitive personal data to what is necessary for essential purposes. "Sensitive" personal data may include information such as government-issued identification numbers, financial account information, precise geolocation, or other information considered sensitive under applicable laws. We will not use or disclose sensitive personal data for purposes beyond what is necessary to provide our services or to comply with applicable law. For example, if you provide a government-issued identification for verification, we will use it solely for that verification and required legal compliance, and not for marketing or profiling. To the extent that applicable law gives you the right to direct us to limit the use or disclosure of your sensitive personal data, we will honor such requests.
6.4 Non-Discrimination
We will not discriminate against you for exercising any of your privacy rights. This means, for example, we will not deny you our services, charge you a different price, or provide you a lower quality of service just because you exercised a right under this Privacy Policy or applicable law. However, if the exercise of your rights inherently prevents us from providing a particular service or feature (for example, if you request deletion of data that is necessary for a certain functionality), you may lose access to that specific service or feature. Aside from such consequences that result directly from your request, we will not penalize or retaliate against you for exercising your rights. We also do not offer any financial incentives or benefits in exchange for your personal data. If that ever changes, we will provide a clear explanation and obtain any necessary consent.
6.5 How to Exercise Your Rights
How to Exercise These Rights: Most of these rights can be exercised by contacting us with your request (see Contact Information at the end of this Policy or use the designated methods below). For some requests, we may need to verify your identity to ensure that we do not give or delete data from the wrong account. Verification might involve confirming control of your email address or asking for information that matches our records.
To access data or request deletion/correction, you can email us at privacy@slyd.com or use the privacy request web form on our site (if available in our Privacy Center). Please specify which right you want to exercise and the scope of the request (e.g., “I want a copy of all my data” or “Please delete my account and associated data”).
6.6 Response and Process Timeline
We will respond to legitimate requests within a reasonable time frame as required by applicable law. The exact response time may vary depending on the nature of the request and the law that applies, but we strive to address all inquiries promptly. If we need more time to respond or if we cannot fulfill some part of your request due to a legal exception, we will inform you of the delay or the reason we cannot comply (to the extent we are permitted to do so). In general, we do not charge a fee for handling your request. However, if a request is manifestly unfounded or excessive – for instance, if you make repetitive requests with no reasonable basis – we reserve the right to decline the request or charge a reasonable fee as allowed by law.
6.7 Complaints and Further Recourse
We are committed to resolving any concerns you may have about how we handle your personal data. If you believe we have violated your privacy rights or have a concern about our data practices, we encourage you to contact us so that we can address the issue. Additionally, depending on your jurisdiction, you may have the right to lodge a complaint with a government data protection authority or regulatory body that oversees privacy law compliance. Nothing in this Policy is intended to limit any rights you may have to seek administrative or judicial relief. We will cooperate with regulatory authorities in the event of any inquiry or investigation.
6.8 Managing Communication Preferences
Beyond the formal rights, we want to make sure you have control over how you hear from us:
Email Marketing Opt-Out: If you no longer wish to receive marketing or promotional emails from SLYD, you can opt out at any time by using the “unsubscribe” link provided in those emails. Clicking that will typically stop further marketing emails to your address. You can also unsubscribe or adjust your communication preferences via your account settings page if that feature is available (for instance, toggling off “Receive newsletter” in your profile). Please note that even if you opt out of marketing messages, we will still send transactional or service emails as described in Section 2.1 (Communication). For example, if you make a purchase or your instance is ready, we will send a confirmation or notification regardless of marketing preferences, because those are not promotional, they are part of the service. If you fully delete your account or email from our system, you would no longer receive any communications except possibly a final confirmation of account closure.
SMS/Phone: We do not currently send unsolicited SMS or marketing calls. If in the future we offer account-related SMS (such as for two-factor authentication or important alerts) or if we were to call customers for service follow-up, we will ensure compliance with telemarketing rules and provide opt-out mechanisms. For example, if we send texts, we will allow you to reply “STOP” to unsubscribe from further SMS, as required by law. Any such communications would primarily be for service, not for telemarketing. Standard messaging rates would apply if/when we send SMS. We will not call you for marketing purposes without your consent, and we do not share phone numbers with third parties for their marketing.
Push Notifications: If we have a mobile or desktop app that sends push notifications, you will have had to grant permission for that on your device. You can always revoke that permission by changing the settings on your device (for example, in iOS or Android settings, you can disable notifications for a specific app). We might send push notifications for things like job completion alerts or system status if you have the app.
Postal Mail: SLYD currently does not send postal mail advertisements. In the unlikely event we did (like an event invitation or a swag package), those would probably be one-offs. Nevertheless, you could contact us to opt out of any postal communications too.
Other Channels: If we engage via social media (like if you follow us and we send messages), you can always unfollow or mute us. We will abide by any platform-specific settings for ads (for example, if you opt out of targeted ads on Facebook in general, we will not attempt to target you there).
Our goal is to ensure that you receive only the communications you want. We do not send high-frequency marketing emails, and when we do send any promotional content, we try to make it relevant. But you are always in control via the above methods.
6.9 Cookie Controls
We provide you with robust options to control cookies and similar tracking technologies, both through our website and via your browser/device settings. Below is a summary (for full details see our Cookie Policy in Section 7):
Cookie Consent Banner: On your first visit to our site (and periodically thereafter, especially for users in jurisdictions like the EU or California), we display a cookie consent banner. This banner allows you to choose your preferences for different categories of cookies. Typically, it gives options such as “Accept All Cookies,” “Reject Non-Essential Cookies,” or “Customize Choices” where you can pick which categories (e.g., Analytics, Preferences, Marketing) you allow. We do not require you to accept anything beyond Strictly Necessary cookies (which are needed for the site to function). Once you make a selection, we remember it by storing a small cookie so we don’t bother you with the banner on every page load. If you clear your cookies or visit from a new device/browser, the banner will appear again to capture preferences.
Changing Preferences: If you change your mind later, you don’t have to hunt for the banner. We provide a “Cookie Settings” or “Privacy Preferences” link (often in the footer of the site) where you can reopen the preferences and adjust which cookies are enabled/disabled. You can also always manually delete cookies from your browser and refresh the page to trigger the consent process again.
Browser Settings: In addition to our site controls, you can manage cookies through your web browser settings. Most browsers (Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge, etc.) allow you to view and delete cookies, and to set rules like blocking third-party cookies or all cookies from certain sites. You can typically find these in the browser’s Privacy or Security settings. For example, you can set up your browser to reject all cookies (though note, if you do, our site’s essential functions like login might not work properly). You can also use private/incognito mode to limit cookie persistence. We honor such settings in the sense that if your browser doesn’t store a cookie, we obviously can’t use it.
Analytics Opt-Out: For Google Analytics specifically, Google offers a Browser Opt-out Add-on you can install (available at tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout) which stops Google Analytics from collecting data on any site you visit that uses GA, including ours. We have also set our Google Analytics to respect the global privacy settings in browsers (like if you have certain privacy add-ons).
Industry Opt-Outs: If we were to use advertising cookies, there are broader opt-out tools provided by industry groups. For instance, the Network Advertising Initiative (NAI) and Digital Advertising Alliance (DAA) have websites (like aboutads.info/choices or youradchoices.ca or youronlinechoices.eu) where you can opt out of many participating ad networks’ cookies in one place. Those are useful if you want to reduce targeted ads broadly. Keep in mind those typically work via setting an “opt-out cookie” in your browser, so if you clear cookies, you might have to do it again.
“Do Not Sell/Share” Signals: As mentioned in Section 6.2, we treat the Global Privacy Control (GPC) signal, which can be enabled in some browser extensions or settings, as a valid opt-out of any cookies on our site that would be considered selling or sharing of personal information under CCPA. When our systems detect GPC, we will automatically disable third-party advertising/analytics cookies for that visit (as if you had opted out via the banner).
Consequences of Opting Out: If you disable categories like Analytics or Marketing cookies, you should still be able to use our site generally. If you disable functional cookies, some preferences might not be saved (for example, the site might not remember your chosen language or that you opted out of cookies, ironically). And strictly necessary cookies, we don’t give the option to disable because without them the site might not run (for instance, no session cookie means you can’t log in). But you could still force-delete even those via your browser; just know that you’ll likely encounter issues like being logged out immediately or unable to add items to a cart, etc.
We aim to make our cookie use transparent and give you meaningful choice. See Section 7 (Cookie Policy) for more on exactly what cookies and similar technologies we use.
6.10 Do Not Track & Global Privacy Control
The online privacy landscape has some signals and settings that users can enable to express choices:
Do Not Track (DNT): This is a setting available in most browsers where the browser sends an HTTP header DNT: 1 to every website you visit, indicating you prefer not to be tracked. However, there is no universal standard defining what websites should do when they see this header, and many sites (including ours) currently do not interpret it in a special way beyond what we already do. In our case, as noted, we focus on our cookie consent tools for tracking preferences. If you have blocked cookies or opted out through our banner, that covers tracking. The DNT header by itself does not change our behavior – we still rely on cookie consent or opt-outs.
Global Privacy Control (GPC): This is a relatively new signal that users can enable (often via a browser extension or built-in browser feature) which is specifically intended as an opt-out of sale/sharing under laws like CCPA/CPRA. Unlike DNT, GPC has gained some recognition and certain laws explicitly mention it. We have configured our site to recognize GPC signals. If a GPC signal is detected from your browser and you are in a region where it’s relevant (like California), we will interpret that as you opting out of the sale/sharing of your data. Practically, as described, that means we will not load third-party advertising cookies or any similar trackers during your session. Even if you don’t click the opt-out link on our site, GPC will trigger the same effect automatically.
Other Signals: If any other standardized signals emerge in the future (for example, something defined by an ISO standard or a new law), we will consider supporting those. Our approach is to comply with the intent of privacy preference signals when we’re aware of them and when they align with legal obligations.
Note: Even with DNT or GPC, necessary data flows (like basic analytics that are essential or any service you explicitly use) might still occur. These signals mainly impact things like third-party marketing/analytics as discussed.
6.11 Children’s Privacy
Our services are not directed to children under a certain age, and we do not knowingly collect personal data from them:
We do not target or market SLYD Cloud or our hardware sales to children. The nature of our services (high-performance computing, B2B hardware, etc.) is aimed at adults or at least older teenagers under adult supervision (like university students). We expect that users are generally 18 years or older to create an account and use paid services. If you are under the age of 13, you are strictly not permitted to use SLYD or provide any personal information. If you are under the age of majority in your jurisdiction (which might be 18 or an older age if local law requires, like 16 for consent under GDPR), you should only use our services with the involvement and consent of a parent or guardian.
We do not knowingly collect personal data from children under 13. In the event we discover that we have inadvertently collected personal information from someone under 13 (or under the applicable minimum age in certain countries, which can be 16), we will promptly delete such information from our records.
If you are a parent or guardian and you suspect that your child (under 13, or under the relevant age) has an account with SLYD or otherwise provided personal data to us without your consent, please contact us immediately. We will take steps to investigate and, if appropriate, delete the data and terminate the child’s account.
Note: In some cases, teens aged 13-17 might be permitted to use certain aspects of our platform (for example, a 17-year-old prodigy doing machine learning research). In those cases, we still treat all users as adults in terms of account handling, but we would require such users to have obtained parental consent if required by law. However, as a business practice, we generally contract with individuals 18+ or companies.
We encourage families to discuss online safety and privacy. Although SLYD is not likely to attract young children due to its content, we still include this section to clarify our stance and comply with laws like COPPA (Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act in the U.S.) which impose requirements if under-13 data is collected (which we avoid doing).
The above rights and choices are provided to give you control and transparency. If you have any questions about your rights or need assistance, please reach out to us.
7. Cookie Policy
This section of the Privacy Policy explains in detail how SLYD uses cookies and similar tracking technologies on our website and platform, and outlines your options for controlling them. By using our site, you agree to the use of cookies as described, unless you opt out through the methods provided.
What Are Cookies?
Cookies are small text files that websites store on your device (computer, smartphone, tablet, etc.) when you visit. These text files contain data that can later be read by the website (or other sites in the case of third-party cookies) to retrieve information about your usage or preferences. Cookies are widely used to make websites work efficiently, to remember user preferences, and to gather analytic information.
There are different types of cookies:
First-party cookies: These are cookies set by the website you are visiting (in this case, by slyd.com). Only that website can read those cookies.
Third-party cookies: These are cookies set by a domain other than the one you are visiting, usually because the site you visit has integrated some third-party service or content. For example, if our site uses Google Analytics, Google might set a cookie via our site; or if there is a YouTube video embedded, YouTube might set cookies.
Session cookies: These cookies are temporary and are erased when you close your browser. They help with things like remembering you’re logged in as you navigate between pages during that visit.
Persistent cookies: These cookies remain on your device for a set period of time or until you delete them. They can persist even after you close the browser, and are used for remembering preferences or analytics over multiple sessions (for example, keeping you logged in or remembering your site settings between visits).
Similar technologies: Besides cookies, there are other technologies like web beacons (tiny invisible images in emails or pages that signal when you’ve read them), pixels, local storage, SDKs in mobile apps, etc. For simplicity, in this Cookie Policy we refer to all of these as “cookies,” but we will mention specifics where relevant.
Types of Cookies We Use
SLYD uses the following categories of cookies on our website:
Strictly Necessary Cookies: These cookies are essential for the operation of our website and services. They enable core functionality such as user authentication, account management, and shopping cart (for hardware purchases). Without these cookies, services you have asked for (like logging into your account or making a purchase) cannot be provided, because the website wouldn’t remember you as you move through pages. Importantly, these cookies do not gather information about you that could be used for marketing or tracking across sites. Examples: session cookies that keep you logged in as you navigate the site; security cookies that detect authentication abuses.
Preferences (Functionality) Cookies: These cookies allow our site to remember choices you make and provide enhanced, more personalized features. For instance, a preference cookie might remember your selected language, your time zone, or the cloud region you last used. They can also remember presentation preferences (like if you prefer a list view vs. grid view, or the fact that you dismissed a certain pop-up so it doesn’t show again). The information these cookies collect may be anonymized and they cannot track your browsing activity on other websites. If you disable these, some of our services may not function as smoothly (for example, you may have to re-enter certain preferences each time).
Analytics Cookies: We use these to collect information about how visitors use our site, in order to improve the site’s performance and user experience. Analytics cookies gather data such as which pages are visited most often, how users move through the site, what features are being used, and if users encounter error messages on certain pages. The information collected by these cookies is generally aggregated and does not directly identify individual visitors. For example, we use Google Analytics which sets cookies like _ga (to uniquely identify browsers with a random ID) and _gid (to group pageviews by session) and _gat (to throttle request rate). Google Analytics provides reports to us on site usage. Google may also use the data collected to contextualize and personalize the ads on its own advertising network, but we have configured our Google Analytics to limit data sharing and have enabled IP anonymization (meaning Google truncates IP addresses in the EU). You can opt out of Google Analytics as described in Section 6.5.
Advertising (Marketing) Cookies: As of the latest update of this Policy, SLYD’s website does not serve third-party banner ads, nor do we allow external ad networks to directly collect data on our site for their own advertising purposes. Therefore, we do not use traditional advertising cookies that profile you for unrelated third-party products. However, we may use marketing-related cookies to help with our own marketing and advertising efforts. For example:
We might use a Facebook Pixel or similar tracking pixel. This is a small piece of code from Facebook that can place a cookie and report back to Facebook that a user visited our site or performed a certain action (like signed up). This helps us measure the effectiveness of any ads we run on Facebook and also allows us to create custom audiences for future SLYD ads (so we can show ads to people who have already visited our site, or exclude customers from seeing irrelevant ads).
Similarly, we might use Google Ads cookies to track conversions (so if we run a Google Ad and you click it and then sign up on our site, a cookie helps us see that conversion).
These marketing cookies would collect information about your browsing behavior on our site and possibly connect it with your profile on the respective platform (Facebook/Google), if you have one, to allow for retargeting or lookalike audience advertising. We do not provide these platforms with your personal data like name or email in raw form without hashing or proper safeguards, and these platforms are not allowed to use the data from our site except to provide services to us. You can opt out of these by declining marketing cookies on our site, and also via your ad preferences on those platforms.
Third-Party Functionality Cookies: If we embed third-party content or features, those third parties may set cookies as part of providing their service. For example, if we had a support chat widget provided by a third party, that widget might set a cookie to manage your chat session. Or if we embed a YouTube tutorial video, YouTube/Google might set cookies to track video views or remember your volume settings. Social media share buttons (Twitter, LinkedIn, etc.) can also set cookies if they are loaded on the page, to check if you’re logged in to their service. We currently have limited third-party embeds, but if we introduce more, we will update our cookie lists. The key point is these cookies are set by those third parties, and they may also collect usage information subject to their own privacy policies. Wherever feasible, we load such features in a way that respects user consent (for instance, not loading a social media plugin until you click it, or until you’ve allowed marketing cookies).
API/Integration Tokens: While not cookies, we note them here for completeness. If you use our API or integrate SLYD with external services (like linking your account to a GitHub or using an API key), we may store tokens or keys in our database to maintain those integrations. These are like “cookies” in that they remember an authenticated connection. They are stored securely on our side (never in your browser storage) and are out of scope of typical cookie controls since they don’t live on your device. But you can manage them by revoking access or resetting tokens in your account settings.
We maintain a list of the specific cookies in use (name, provider, purpose, duration) in our internal documentation. We may also provide a public Cookie Declaration page through our consent management tool that details each cookie. (For example, services like OneTrust or Cookiebot often generate a table of all cookies in use, which we would link here if available.)
Cookie Duration and Storage
Cookies can have various lifespans:
Session cookies: last only until you close your browser, then they are automatically deleted.
Persistent cookies: have an expiration date or duration set. Some might last a few days, others could last months or even years if you don’t delete them. For example, a cookie to remember your login (if you choose “remember me”) might last 30 days. A cookie to remember your cookie consent preferences might last a year (so we don’t bug you with the banner too often). Advertising cookies on other sites often last 90 days or more, but since we’re not doing third-party ad targeting, ours are mainly for our own uses.
In our case, most of our cookies have moderate lifespans:
Necessary session cookies (for login, etc.) expire when you log out or shortly after inactivity.
Preference cookies might last 6 months to a year (e.g., to remember your settings).
Analytics cookies (Google Analytics) typically have a 14-month retention on data; the cookies like _ga usually last 2 years unless you clear them.
Marketing pixels cookies (like Facebook) often last around 90 days if used.
You can see exact durations via your browser’s developer tools or via our cookie list if available. And remember, you always have the ability to delete cookies manually – either one by one or all at once – using your browser.
Your Choices and Controls for Cookies
We’ve partially covered this in Section 6.5, but to reiterate specifically in cookie context:
Using Our Cookie Consent Tool: When you first visit, use the banner to accept or reject categories of cookies. You can revisit these settings anytime by clicking the “Cookie Settings” link (usually found in the footer of the site). This tool is the easiest way to customize your cookie experience on SLYD.
Browser Controls: You can control cookies at the browser level. This includes:
Clearing existing cookies (usually found in your browser history or privacy settings).
Setting a browser to block cookies from specific sites or from all sites. You might block third-party cookies specifically (a common option in browsers to allow site functionality but block cross-site tracking).
Sending “Do Not Track” signals (as discussed, not widely honored, but you can set it).
Using browser extensions or privacy browsers that provide more granular control (like uBlock, Ghostery, Privacy Badger, etc., which can block analytics and ads).
Third-Party Opt-Out: For any third-party that collects via our site, you can also opt out directly with them. We mentioned Google Analytics opt-out add-on. If we had DoubleClick/Google Ads cookies, Google’s Ads Settings allows opt-out of personalized ads. Facebook allows opting out of some ads via your profile settings or the industry opt-outs. The NAI Opt-Out Page and DAA WebChoices tool let you see which member companies have cookies on your browser and opt out of them en masse.
“Do Not Sell” (California): If you’re concerned about CCPA sale/sharing, use the “Do Not Sell My Info” link if available, or rely on GPC signals as mentioned. Our site will respond to those by toggling off third-party cookies that are involved in any data sharing.
Mobile Devices: If you access SLYD via a mobile browser, the same principles apply. If we ever have a mobile app, note that apps don’t use cookies per se, but they have similar concepts (device identifiers, Advertising IDs like the IDFA on iOS or AAID on Android). Your phone’s operating system provides controls: for example, on iOS you can disable tracking for apps or reset your IDFA, on Android you can opt out of ad personalization or reset the advertising ID in Google settings. Our hypothetical app would respect those settings just as our site respects browser settings.
Cookie Policy Updates
We may update our use of cookies from time to time, and consequently, this Cookie Policy section may also change. For example, if we implement a new analytics tool, or start advertising on a new platform, we might add new cookies. We will update the list of cookies and categories accordingly.
If changes are significant (say we started collecting totally new types of data via cookies), we may display a new notice or obtain consent again as required. Minor changes may just be reflected by updating this document and the “Last Updated” date.
We encourage you to review this Cookie Policy periodically to stay informed about how we are using these technologies. Your continued use of our website after any update to the Policy will signify your acceptance of the changes, to the extent permitted by law.
In summary, cookies help us provide and improve the SLYD experience, but you have control over how they are used. If you have questions or need more information about our cookie practices, you can contact us as outlined below.
8. Changes to This Privacy Policy
We may modify or update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our business, legal requirements, or privacy practices. If we make changes, we will post the updated Policy on this page and update the “Last Updated” date at the top.
For significant changes, we will take additional steps to notify you. This could include prominent notices on our website or within the SLYD platform, and/or sending an email notification to the address associated with your account. Significant changes might involve things like: expanding the types of personal data we collect, changing how or why we use data in a way that you wouldn’t expect under the current Policy, or changes that affect your rights.
Any changes will become effective when posted, unless stated otherwise. In general, our current Privacy Policy applies to all information we have about you and your account. We will not materially reduce your rights under this Privacy Policy without your consent. If a new policy were to potentially be less protective of your personal data than an earlier version (for example, if we were to start collecting more data or using it for new purposes), we would either obtain your explicit consent for those new practices or give you a clear opportunity to opt out before the changes apply to you. We value the trust you place in us and will not compromise your privacy expectations without ensuring you are informed and, where required, in agreement.
We encourage you to review this page periodically to stay informed about how we are protecting your information. Your continued use of SLYD’s services after any update to this Privacy Policy will indicate your acknowledgment of the changes and agreement to the updated terms, to the extent allowed by applicable law.
If you do not agree with any changes to this Privacy Policy, you should stop using our services and may close your account if you wish. We will respect any such decision and will continue to handle previously collected data in accordance with the last policy that applied at the time of collection, unless you consent to the new terms.
9. Contact Information
If you have any questions, concerns, or comments about this Privacy Policy or our data practices, please don’t hesitate to contact us. We are here to help and will gladly address your inquiries.
Contact Methods:
Email: You can reach our privacy team at privacy@slyd.com. This is often the quickest way to get a response. Please include “Privacy Inquiry” in the subject line and describe your question or request in detail.
Contact Form: Visit our website’s Contact Us page to submit a request or question through a web form, if available.
Mail: You may also contact us by postal mail. Our mailing address is:
SLYD Group Inc.
Attn: Privacy Officer
444 W. Lake Street, Suite 1700
Chicago, IL 60606
United States of America
(Note: This is a corporate office address; please include “Attn: Privacy” to ensure it reaches the appropriate team.)
SLYD Group Inc. is a company incorporated in the State of Delaware, USA, with operations in multiple locations. When you contact us, please let us know your region (especially if it’s about exercising a legal right, since it helps us direct you to the correct process if any regional specificity is needed).
We will endeavor to respond to any privacy inquiries or complaints within a reasonable timeframe. If you are contacting us to exercise a specific data right (as described in Section 6), please be prepared to verify your identity, as we described, so we can safeguard your data from unauthorized requests.
If you have an unresolved privacy or data use concern that we have not addressed satisfactorily, you may also contact your local data protection authority (as noted in Section 6.3 for EU/UK residents, or regulatory bodies like the FTC for US concerns). But we truly hope to work things out directly with you first.
Thank you for reading our Privacy Policy. We appreciate your trust in SLYD and are committed to keeping that trust by respecting and protecting your personal data.
