Your privacy and data handling

1. Introduction

Mallard Technologies ("Mallard", "we", "us", or "our") is an AI systems engineering and consulting practice based in the Greater Philadelphia area. This policy describes how we collect, use, and safeguard personal information when you visit mallardtech.com or engage us for services.

It applies to all interactions with the website, the contact form, and information exchanged during discovery, delivery, or ongoing engagements.

2. Information We Collect

Information you provide. When you submit the contact form or otherwise reach out, we collect the information you choose to share, including your name, email address, message content, and any optional qualification fields (company, role, budget, project context).

Information collected automatically. When you visit the site, we collect limited technical information including IP address, device and browser type, referring URL, and page views. This is handled through Vercel Analytics and Vercel Speed Insights, which provide aggregated, privacy-focused telemetry.

Cookies and similar technologies. We use a small number of cookies and similar technologies for analytics and basic site functionality. See Section 5 for details.

3. How We Use Information

• Respond to inquiries and evaluate project fit.
• Deliver, support, and improve engagements we are retained for.
• Operate, secure, and improve the website and our service offerings.
• Comply with legal, tax, and contractual obligations.

4. Legal Bases for Processing (GDPR)

If you are in the European Economic Area or United Kingdom, we rely on the following legal bases under the GDPR and UK GDPR:

• Consent — where you have opted in to non-essential cookies or communications.
• Legitimate interests — to operate, secure, and improve the website and respond to inbound inquiries.
• Performance of a contract — to deliver services under a signed statement of work.
• Legal obligation — where processing is required by applicable law.

5. Cookies and Analytics

The site uses Vercel Analytics and Vercel Speed Insights to understand aggregate traffic, performance, and usability. These tools are designed to minimize the collection of personally identifying information.

We categorize cookies as follows:

• Strictly necessary — required for core site functionality and security.
• Analytics — used to understand aggregate page views and performance through Vercel Analytics and Vercel Speed Insights.
• Functional — used to remember basic preferences where applicable.

Visitors from the EU, UK, and other regions requiring consent will be presented with a cookie consent notice. A formal consent banner is on our near-term roadmap; until it is in place, EU and UK visitors can disable non-essential cookies through their browser settings and may contact us at privacy@mallardtech.com with any concerns.

6. AI and Automated Processing

At this time, Mallard Technologies does not process contact-form submissions through automated large language model (LLM) systems or other third-party AI APIs. Inquiries are reviewed directly by a human.

We reserve the right to introduce AI-assisted triage, summarization, or drafting in the future. If we do, we will update this policy, identify the processors involved, and notify users before any such processing begins.

7. Third Parties and Sub-processors

We rely on a small set of vetted service providers to operate the site and communicate with prospects and clients:

• Vercel — hosting, content delivery, Vercel Analytics, and Vercel Speed Insights.
• Our transactional email provider — routing and delivery of contact-form submissions and correspondence.
• reCAPTCHA or equivalent — where deployed, used to mitigate automated abuse of the contact form.

We do not sell personal information and we do not share it with third parties for their independent marketing.

8. Data Retention

Contact-form submissions are retained for up to 24 months from the date of last contact, unless the inquiry converts into a client engagement — in which case records are retained for the duration of the engagement and any period required by law, tax, or contractual obligation.

Analytics data is retained according to Vercel's default retention policies for Vercel Analytics and Vercel Speed Insights.

9. Your Rights Under GDPR

If you are located in the EEA or UK, you have the following rights with respect to personal information we hold about you:

• Right of access
• Right to rectification
• Right to erasure ("right to be forgotten")
• Right to restriction of processing
• Right to data portability
• Right to object to processing
• Right to withdraw consent at any time

To exercise any of these rights, contact privacy@mallardtech.com. We will respond within the timeframes required by applicable law.

10. Your Rights Under CCPA (California Residents)

If you are a California resident, the California Consumer Privacy Act (as amended by the CPRA) provides you with the following rights:

• Right to know what personal information we collect, use, and disclose.
• Right to delete personal information we have collected, subject to legal exceptions.
• Right to correct inaccurate personal information.
• Right to opt out of sale — Mallard does not sell personal information, so there is nothing to opt out of.
• Right to non-discrimination for exercising any of these rights.

California residents can submit requests by emailing privacy@mallardtech.com.

11. International Data Transfers

Mallard Technologies is based in the United States, and our primary infrastructure provider (Vercel) is a US company. If you access the site from the EEA, UK, or another jurisdiction outside the United States, your information may be transferred to and processed on servers located in the US.

For such transfers, we rely on Vercel's Standard Contractual Clauses and equivalent safeguards as the legal mechanism for international data transfers.

12. Children's Privacy

The site is not directed to, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from, children under the age of 16. If you believe a child has provided us with personal information, contact us and we will delete it.

13. Security

We use reasonable technical and organizational measures to protect personal information from unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, or destruction. These include encryption in transit, access controls, and vendor due-diligence.

No method of internet transmission or electronic storage is 100% secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security of any information provided to us.

14. Changes to This Policy

We may update this policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, technology, or legal requirements. When we do, we will revise the "Last Updated" date at the top of this page. Material changes will be highlighted on the site for a reasonable period before taking effect.

15. Contact

Questions, requests, or complaints about this policy can be sent to privacy@mallardtech.com.

Mallard Technologies
Greater Philadelphia, USA

16. Legal Notice

This privacy policy is provided as general information and is not a substitute for legal advice. Please consult a qualified attorney regarding your specific situation.