Privacy policy

Introduction

Atlas Securities Index, operated by BC Holdings LLC ("we," "our," or "us"), respects your privacy and is committed to protecting your personal information. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, and safeguard information when you visit atlassecuritiesindex.com.

The short version: this is a research site with one optional sign-up. We have no user accounts and no contact forms. If you choose to join our email list, we store your email address to send you updates, and you can unsubscribe from any message. Our host processes ordinary web-server request data (including IP address) in order to serve pages, and the only automatic visitor tracking is analytics, which loads only if you consent to it.

Information we collect

Automatically collected information: When you visit the site, our hosting provider processes standard request data including your IP address, browser type, device type, and the pages you request. This is ordinary web server activity and is used to serve the site and diagnose problems.

Analytics information: If you consent to analytics cookies, Google Analytics 4 collects usage data such as pages visited, session duration, approximate location derived from IP address, and referral source. This data is pseudonymous rather than anonymous: Google assigns a persistent client identifier, so we treat it as personal data and extend the rights described below to it. If you decline, no analytics scripts load at all.

Email list (opt-in): If you enter your email address in one of our sign-up forms, we store that address, the page you signed up from, and the date, and we use them to send you our email updates. This is the only personal information you actively provide, and it is entirely optional. Every email includes an unsubscribe link, and unsubscribing stops all further messages.

Exam-sequence planner: As the planner is currently built, it runs entirely in your browser. Your selections are not transmitted to us, not stored on a server, and are gone when you close the tab.

What we do not collect: We do not operate user accounts, host contact forms, accept payments, or build advertising profiles. The only visitor information we store is the email address of people who choose to join our list.

How we use information

• To serve, secure, and improve this website
• To send the email updates you signed up for, and to record whether an email was opened or a link clicked so we can tell whether the emails are useful
• To understand which research pages are useful so we know what to write next
• To attribute referrals to prep providers if and when an affiliate program is active
• To comply with legal obligations

We do not build advertising profiles, and we do not use your data to score or rank providers. Scores come from the published CHART methodology alone.

Data retention

Different data types are retained for different periods:

Third-party service providers

We use a deliberately small number of third parties. Each receives only the data necessary for its function:

• Google Analytics 4: website analytics, loaded only with your consent. Receives pseudonymous usage data. Google Privacy Policy (opens in new tab)
• Our hosting provider: serves the site and processes server requests including IP addresses and request metadata. We currently intend to host on Vercel; if that changes, this section is updated before the change goes live. Vercel Privacy Policy (opens in new tab)
• Supabase: stores our email subscriber list (your address and the sign-up metadata above). Receives that data only when you submit a sign-up form. Supabase Privacy Policy (opens in new tab)
• Resend: delivers our emails and reports delivery events (such as opens, clicks, and bounces). Receives your email address for the purpose of sending you the messages you subscribed to. Resend Privacy Policy (opens in new tab)
• Google Fonts: typefaces are self-hosted at build time rather than fetched from Google on page load, so visiting this site does not send a request to Google's font servers.

Cookies and local storage

We use localStorage always, and browser cookies only when analytics is enabled and you have consented. localStorage is a browser storage mechanism similar to cookies, but it stays on your device and is not transmitted with requests. Here is everything we store:

You can change or withdraw your choice at any time using the cookie settings link in the site footer, or by clearing site data in your browser.

If no cookie settings link appears in the footer, analytics is not currently enabled on this site, no consent banner is shown, and the _ga cookies above are not being set at all. In that state the only storage in use is the theme preference.

Affiliate relationships

Atlas Securities Index may participate in affiliate programs with securities exam prep providers. Where such a relationship is active, clicking one of our links and making a purchase may earn us a commission at no additional cost to you, and the provider or its affiliate network may set a cookie to attribute that purchase to our referral. Those cookies come from the provider, not from us, and are covered by the provider's own privacy policy.

Our affiliate disclosure names every active relationship and is updated before any tracked link goes live. Commission rates are not an input to our scores.

Third-party links

This site links to third-party websites, including exam prep providers and regulators such as FINRA and NASAA. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of those sites. We encourage you to review the privacy policy of any site you visit.

Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information

We do not sell your personal information for monetary consideration. Under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA/CPRA), the use of analytics cookies, and of affiliate tracking cookies if an affiliate relationship becomes active, may nonetheless constitute "sharing" of personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising purposes.

To opt out of this sharing:

• Use the cookie settings link in the footer to decline analytics cookies (if no such link appears, analytics is not enabled and nothing is being shared)
• Or email us at hello@atlassecuritiesindex.com to request an opt-out

We will process opt-out requests within 15 business days and will not discriminate against you for exercising this right.

Security and breach notification

We maintain administrative and technical safeguards appropriate to the very limited data we handle, including HTTPS with strict transport security and a mostly static architecture. The one store of personal data, the email subscriber list, is held by Supabase behind access controls and is never exposed to the public site. No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

If we become aware of a security incident that has compromised personal information about you, we will notify you in the most expedient time possible and without unreasonable delay, and in any event within the time required by applicable law, describing what we know about the incident, the information involved, and the steps you can take. Where a regulator is entitled to notice, we will notify it within the separate deadline that applies to that notice. We deliberately do not commit to a fixed number of hours here, because the deadlines that actually govern differ by jurisdiction and between regulator notice and individual notice.

Your rights

Depending on where you live, you may have rights to access, correct, or delete personal information we hold about you. If you are on our email list, the personal data we hold is your email address and the sign-up details above; you can remove it yourself by unsubscribing from any email, or ask us to delete it. If you are not subscribed, the only data associated with you is pseudonymous analytics, which you can prevent entirely by declining analytics cookies. To make a request or ask a question, email hello@atlassecuritiesindex.com.

California privacy rights (CCPA/CPRA)

California residents have specific rights under the CCPA and CPRA:

• Right to know: request what personal information we collect, use, and disclose
• Right to delete: request deletion of your personal information
• Right to opt out: opt out of the sale or sharing of personal information
• Right to correct: request correction of inaccurate personal information
• Right to non-discrimination: we will not treat you differently for exercising these rights

To exercise these rights, email hello@atlassecuritiesindex.com. We respond to verifiable requests within 45 days.

Other US state privacy rights

Residents of states with comprehensive consumer privacy laws, including Virginia, Colorado, Connecticut, Utah, Texas, Oregon, Montana, Delaware, Iowa, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Tennessee, Minnesota, and Maryland, may have rights to confirm, access, correct, delete, and obtain a copy of personal data, and to opt out of targeted advertising, sale, and certain profiling. We may not meet the applicability thresholds of every such law, but we extend these rights to residents of all US states as a matter of policy.

Appeals: if we decline your request, we will tell you why and how to appeal. Send an appeal to hello@atlassecuritiesindex.com with "Privacy Appeal" in the subject line. We will respond in writing within 45 days with our decision and the reasons for it, and if we deny the appeal we will provide a method to contact your state attorney general.

Verification: if you are on our email list, we verify a request by the email address we hold, so a request sent from that address can be honored directly. If you are not subscribed, we generally cannot associate a request with any information we hold, and we are not required to collect additional personal information solely to re-identify you. We will tell you when that is the case rather than leaving a request unanswered.

Sensitive information and direct marketing: we do not collect, use, or disclose sensitive personal information as defined by the CPRA, which is why no "limit the use of my sensitive personal information" link appears. We also do not disclose personal information to third parties for those third parties' own direct marketing purposes.

Business transfers: if this site is sold or merged, analytics data associated with it may transfer as part of that transaction. We will note any such change here.

European privacy rights (GDPR)

If you are in the European Economic Area, United Kingdom, or Switzerland, you have rights under the General Data Protection Regulation, including access, rectification, erasure, restriction of processing, data portability, and objection to processing.

Legal basis for processing: consent for analytics cookies, and legitimate interests for the basic server operation required to deliver the site. You may withdraw consent at any time through the cookie settings link in the footer, which does not affect processing carried out before you withdrew it.

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with your local supervisory authority. This site is operated from the United States and directed to a United States audience; we have not appointed an Article 27 representative in the EU or UK.

International data transfers

Atlas Securities Index is based in the United States. If you access the site from elsewhere, your information may be transferred to, stored, and processed in the United States, where our hosting and analytics providers operate. For visitors in the EEA or United Kingdom, we understand those providers to rely on Standard Contractual Clauses or other approved transfer mechanisms under GDPR.

Do not track signals

We honor the Global Privacy Control (GPC). If your browser or an extension transmits a GPC signal, we treat it as a request to opt out: analytics never loads, no consent banner is shown, and any previously stored consent is overridden. We do not respond to the older Do Not Track signal, because no industry standard exists for honoring it. You can also control tracking directly through the cookie settings link in the footer.

Children's privacy

This website is not directed at children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from them. Its subject matter, professional securities licensing, is aimed at working adults. If you believe a child has provided us with personal information, email hello@atlassecuritiesindex.com and we will delete it.

Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Changes are posted on this page with a revised "Last updated" date. Continued use of the site after a change indicates acceptance of the updated policy.

Contact us

Questions about this policy or our data practices go to hello@atlassecuritiesindex.com, or see the contact page.