Privacy Policy

Last Updated: October 18, 2025

SmartEdge Institute is committed to protecting your privacy and ensuring the security of your personal information. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your data when you visit our academic portal focused on smart homes, automation, energy-efficient technologies, and IoT systems.

Information We Collect

We collect various types of information to provide and improve our services. This includes personal identification information such as your name, email address, phone number, and postal address when you register for an account, subscribe to our newsletter, or contact us. We also collect technical information automatically through cookies and similar technologies, including your IP address, browser type, device information, operating system, referring URLs, pages viewed, and time spent on our portal. Additionally, we gather usage data about how you interact with our content, including articles read, research papers downloaded, webinars attended, and search queries performed. When you participate in our community features or forums, we collect the content you post, comments you make, and interactions with other users.

How We Use Your Information

Your information enables us to deliver personalized and effective services. We use your data to provide access to our academic resources, research materials, and educational content about smart home technologies and IoT systems. Your information helps us personalize your experience by recommending relevant articles, courses, and research papers based on your interests in home automation and sustainable technologies. We communicate with you through newsletters, updates about new content, event invitations, and responses to your inquiries. Your data assists us in improving our portal through analysis of user behavior, conducting research on technology trends, and developing new features and educational programs. We also use information to maintain security, prevent fraud, enforce our terms of service, and comply with legal obligations.

Information Sharing and Disclosure

We respect your privacy and limit information sharing to specific circumstances. We may share your data with service providers and partners who assist in operating our portal, including hosting providers, email service providers, analytics platforms, and payment processors. These third parties are contractually obligated to protect your information and use it only for specified purposes. When legally required, we may disclose information to comply with court orders, legal processes, government requests, or to protect our rights and safety. In the event of a business transfer such as a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets, your information may be transferred to the new entity. We may share aggregated, anonymized data that cannot identify you individually for research purposes, industry reports, and academic publications about smart home and IoT trends.

Cookies and Tracking Technologies

Our portal uses cookies and similar tracking technologies to enhance your browsing experience and gather information about usage patterns. Essential cookies are necessary for basic portal functionality, including user authentication, security features, and session management. Analytical cookies help us understand how visitors interact with our content, which pages are most popular, and how users navigate our site. Functional cookies enable personalized features such as remembering your preferences, language settings, and customized content recommendations. Marketing cookies may be used to deliver relevant advertisements and measure the effectiveness of our promotional campaigns. You can control cookie preferences through your browser settings, though disabling certain cookies may limit portal functionality. For detailed information about our cookie practices, please review our separate Cookie Policy.

Data Security

We implement comprehensive security measures to protect your personal information from unauthorized access, alteration, disclosure, or destruction. Our security infrastructure includes encryption of data in transit and at rest using industry-standard protocols, secure server environments with firewalls and intrusion detection systems, regular security audits and vulnerability assessments, access controls limiting employee access to personal data on a need-to-know basis, and regular backup procedures to prevent data loss. Despite these measures, no internet transmission or electronic storage method is completely secure. While we strive to protect your information using commercially acceptable means, we cannot guarantee absolute security. We encourage you to use strong passwords, enable two-factor authentication when available, and immediately report any suspected security breaches.

Your Rights and Choices

You have significant control over your personal information and how we use it. You can access and update your account information at any time through your profile settings. You have the right to request a copy of the personal data we hold about you and correct any inaccuracies. You may request deletion of your personal data, subject to certain legal exceptions such as compliance with legal obligations or completion of transactions. You can object to or restrict certain processing activities, including marketing communications and automated decision-making. You have the right to receive your data in a portable format and transfer it to another service provider. You can withdraw consent for data processing activities that require your consent at any time. To exercise these rights, contact us at info@smartedgeinstitute.com. We will respond to your request within 30 days in accordance with applicable data protection laws.

International Data Transfers

SmartEdge Institute operates from Kazakhstan and may transfer your personal information to countries outside your residence. Our servers and service providers may be located in various jurisdictions worldwide, including countries that may have different data protection standards than your home country. When we transfer your information internationally, we implement appropriate safeguards to protect your data, including standard contractual clauses approved by relevant data protection authorities, ensuring our service providers maintain adequate data protection measures, and conducting privacy impact assessments for high-risk transfers. By using our portal, you acknowledge and consent to the international transfer and processing of your information as described in this policy. For users in the European Economic Area, we comply with GDPR requirements for international data transfers and ensure appropriate safeguards are in place.

Children's Privacy

SmartEdge Institute's portal is designed for adult professionals, researchers, and students in the fields of smart home technology, IoT, and home automation. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under the age of 16 without verifiable parental consent. Our academic content, research materials, and community features are intended for mature audiences with professional or educational interests in intelligent systems and digital innovation. If you are a parent or guardian and believe that your child has provided us with personal information without your consent, please contact us immediately at info@smartedgeinstitute.com. Upon verification, we will promptly delete such information from our systems. Educational institutions using our resources for students under 16 must obtain appropriate parental consents and supervise student access in accordance with applicable laws such as COPPA and GDPR provisions for children's data.

Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy periodically to reflect changes in our practices, technologies, legal requirements, or other operational needs. When we make material changes, we will notify you by prominently posting a notice on our portal, sending an email to the address associated with your account, and updating the "Last Updated" date at the top of this policy. We encourage you to review this Privacy Policy regularly to stay informed about how we protect your information. Your continued use of our portal after changes become effective constitutes your acceptance of the revised policy. If you disagree with any changes, you should discontinue use of our services and may request deletion of your account and associated data. For significant changes that materially affect your rights, we may seek your explicit consent before applying the new terms to your existing data.

Contact Us

If you have questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or our data practices, please contact us:

SmartEdge Institute

280 Baizakov Street

Almaty, Kazakhstan

Phone: +7 (727) 312 77 00

Email: info@smartedgeinstitute.com