PADI AWARE's Privacy Policy

PADI AWARE Foundation is committed to respecting the privacy of our supporters. This Privacy Policy covers personally identifiable information you may choose to share with PADI AWARE Foundation (PADI AWARE) on padiaware.org, through the PADI AWARE Foundation Conservation Action Portal or any other official PADI AWARE form. By using padiaware.org, the Conservation Action Portal or completing any additional PADI AWARE form, you consent to this policy. Specific to PADI AWARE's personal data privacy policies and security procedures, as noted in various specific portions of this Privacy Policy, PADI AWARE is compliant with the privacy requirements and regulations of the EU's General Data Protection Regulations ("GDPR"); the California Consumer Protection Act of 2018 ("CCPA"); and Canada's Anti-Spam Law ("CASL"), as it affects residents of the respective areas covered by those regulations.

For your ease and convenience, we make this notice available from every page of our website, on the Conservation Action Portal under "Settings" as well as at the bottom of our formal communications identified as "Privacy Policy" with a link to this notice. Changes to the policy will be posted on these pages. Any changes will only apply to information collected after the posted date of the change. This Privacy Policy applies only to information collected through the website, Conservation Action Portal or other official PADI AWARE form.

Please note: Any other site linked to this website, including AWARE affiliates' sites, may be governed by their individual Privacy Policies and Terms of Use. Please consult these sites for further understanding of their Privacy Policies and Terms of Use.

Depending on the program or service you wish to engage in, PADI AWARE may ask for personally identifiable information. In some instances, you may decide what information you choose to provide. Sometimes, however, complete information is needed for PADI AWARE to respond to your requests and/or include you in a program or service. This site collects both personally identifiable and non-personally identifiable information to improve the usefulness of the online information and services we offer to our users.

Personally identifiable information is any data element or collection of data elements that directly identifies an individual, including name and email address.

Non-personally identifiable information is any data element or collection of data elements that, by itself, cannot be associated with a specific individual. This site collects non-personally identifiable information which is routinely gathered from all site visitors and focuses on website activity, such as how many people visit the site, the pages they visit, what website they are coming from, how long they stay, etc. This site visitor data is collected on an aggregated, anonymous basis, which means personally identifiable information is not associated with this data. This type of non-personally identifiable information is generally gathered by third-party providers through the use of web server logs, third-party ad servers, cookie technology, and clear GIFs, as defined herein.

In addition, in some cases we may link this sort of non-personally identifiable information with the personally identifiable information we have about people who use our website or services and treat this information as personally identifiable information. For example, we may use this information to follow up with you, if applicable.

PADI AWARE may also collect a credit card number, debit card number, or other similar financial information. Financial information is used by PADI AWARE for donation or payment processing purposes only. We do not retain, share, store or use this information for any secondary purposes and exercise reasonable care to prevent disclosure or use of credit/debit card information, other than as permitted by the Credit Card Association Rules.

We require our service provider, Stripe, to store your personal information securely. Please visit their privacy policies to familiarize yourself with their use of your data and to opt out if you choose to do so: Stripe Privacy Policy.

Our website and programs are not directed towards children, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children without appropriate consent as required by applicable law.

The minimum age at which a child may provide personal information to us depends on the laws of their country of residence.

While PADI AWARE Foundation cannot prevent children younger than 13 years of age/16 years of age in the EU from viewing the PADI websites or PADI AWARE Foundation, such children may not register for a PADI Single Sign-On in order to access the Conservation Action Portal.

PADI AWARE strongly encourages parents and guardians to supervise the online activity of all children younger than 18 years of age and to educate them about safe internet use. PADI is compliant with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998 (COPPA). For more information on COPPA, visit www.coppa.org.

If you provide us with a wireless (mobile) email address, or phone number, you agree to receive messages at such address from PADI AWARE Foundation (unless and until you have elected not to receive such messages by notifying us using the "unsubscribe" link located within the PADIAWARE.org email notifications). You understand that your wireless carrier's standard rates apply to these messages. You represent that you are the owner or authorized user of the wireless device on which messages will be received, and that you are authorized to approve the applicable charges.

You may opt out of receiving such communications at any time by following the opt-out instructions included in our message, or by contacting us directly through the methods provided in this Privacy Policy. We will process opt-out requests in accordance with applicable laws.

PADI AWARE uses the information for the sole purposes of identifying visitors, their interests, aggregate demographic data, providing requested information, personalized notices and promotions, engaging the community in ocean conservation programs and improving our site.

PADI AWARE may also, at times, highlight affiliated conservation activities, grant recipients and local projects on the PADI AWARE website and social media channels.

Your email address will be used to send you information from PADI AWARE and its programs.

• For donors, PADI AWARE regularly emails newsletters and updates, as well as support and renewal notices via mail and email.
• For Conservation Action Portal users PADI AWARE may contact you regarding data submissions.
• For Grant Applicants PADI AWARE may contact you regarding your application, grant awards, reports and to inform you of other upcoming funding opportunities.
• For Adopt the Blue participants PADI AWARE may contact you regarding program participation and possible funding opportunities.

Except as stated in this Privacy Policy, PADI AWARE does not provide, market, trade or sell the information it obtains to third parties except in the aggregate as part of statistical reports prepared by PADI AWARE for organizational analysis. This aggregate information does not include personally identifiable information. However, all personally identifiable information gathered can be disclosed to judicial or other government agencies subject to warrants, subpoenas, or other government orders.

PADI AWARE, due to its affiliation with PADI, may share information with PADI staff regarding affiliated conservation activities, grant applicants and local projects in order to provide a more collaborative response and management of our supporters and partners. Grant application information may also be shared with additional non-PADI AWARE/PADI staff as part of the review process. All non-PADI AWARE/PADI staff are required to sign a confidentiality statement and agree not to contact the applicants regarding any other business.

You may unsubscribe from email notifications through the following:

• Choose to opt out of certain email communications during the registration/application process.
• Follow the language within the email notifications.
• Request a change in your status by emailing us at [email protected] or through the Conservation Action Portal account settings page.

PADI AWARE uses a number of security measures to maintain the privacy of your personal information. The data are stored in secure databases and are accessed only for the purposes listed above. Employee access to personal information is strictly on a need to know basis. Third parties providing services for PADI AWARE are required to sign a confidentiality agreement agreeing not to use personal or confidential information except to provide the specific service requested by PADI AWARE.

PADI AWARE accepts check and credit card payments. When making a donation or placing an online order your payment information, such as bank information, credit card number, Card Verification Value Code (CVV) / Card Validation Code (CVC) and expiration date, are entered during your transaction. PADI AWARE uses a third-party merchant processor to process your online transactions. When donating to PADI AWARE your financial details are passed through a secure server using the latest 128-bit SSL (secure sockets layer) encryption technology. The 128-bit SSL encryption is approximated to take at least one trillion years to break, and is the industry standard. If you have any questions regarding our security policy, please email us at [email protected]. This sensitive personal information is not shared with third parties other than the processor. Your credit card information is not stored or retained for future use.

As a general policy, PADI AWARE does not track IP addresses. However, it may sometimes be necessary when such information is needed to help diagnose a problem with our server or to identify the origin of unlawful activity on or against padiaware.org.

Yes. Like many websites, we use cookies and similar technologies to enhance your experience, improve our site, and understand how visitors use our services.

A cookie is a small text file that is placed on your device when you visit a website. They allow the website to recognize your device and remember certain information about your visit. You can control cookies through your browser settings and through our cookie consent tools.

If you are concerned about the use of cookie technology, you may opt to enable a feature in your browser software that will erase cookies, block all cookies or warn you before cookies are stored or exchanged.

If you reject a cookie, you may still use our site, but some features of the site may not function as intended.

Where required by law, we seek your consent before placing non-essential cookies.

How we use cookies:

• Strictly necessary cookies: essential for the website to function. You cannot disable these through our cookie banner because the site cannot operate without them.
• Analytics and performance cookies: help us understand how visitors use the site so we can improve user experience.
• Functionality cookies: remember choices you make (such as language preferences) to provide more personalized features.
• Marketing or targeting cookies: used to deliver relevant content or measure the effectiveness of our campaigns, where applicable.

Padiaware.org provides links to other sites as a service to visitors. PADI AWARE is not responsible for the privacy practices, security measures or data collection practices of these other web sites nor for the content of these sites. Your choice to access these sites is at your own risk. We encourage you to read the privacy statement of any website that you visit.

Yes. You can elect not to receive information by responding to the email communication and indicating your choice to unsubscribe to that communication.

You may also request a change in your status by emailing us at [email protected] or through the Conservation Action Portal account settings page.

The information you share about yourself when you sign up to access the Conservation Action Portal includes your name, email, and location.

Here are some other things to remember:

• You can configure the visibility of contact information that may be visible on the Conservation Action Map within the individual surveys as well as your user profile dashboard under "Account Settings", "Social Media Accounts." This allows you to decide whether your email or social media information can be seen by everyone who views the Conservation Action Map or not.
• Even after you remove information from your profile or delete your account, copies of that information may remain viewable elsewhere to the extent it has been shared with others, it was otherwise distributed, or it was copied or stored by other users.
• You understand that information might be re-shared or copied by other users.
• If you publish your survey information to a social media platform such as Facebook, you should check the privacy setting for that post, as it is set by that external source.

Although we allow you to configure the visibility of the information you share, please be aware that no security measures are perfect or impenetrable. We cannot control the actions of other users with whom you share your information. We cannot guarantee that only authorized persons will view your information. We cannot ensure that information you share on the Conservation Action Portal will not become publicly available. We are not responsible for third party circumvention of any settings, as the purpose of the Portal is to share your conservation activities.

By submitting photos, videos, stories, or other materials ("Submissions") to PADI AWARE Foundation through our website, applications, email, social media, or any other method, you grant PADI AWARE Foundation a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free, perpetual, and transferable license to use, reproduce, modify, publish, distribute and display those materials for our charitable, educational, and promotional purposes, in any media now known or later developed. PADI AWARE may authorize affiliated organizations to use your Submissions for related conservation or awareness initiatives, consistent with this purpose. You understand that no compensation will be provided for such use.

While PADI AWARE endeavors to include appropriate credit where feasible, you acknowledge that attribution may not always be possible depending on the format, medium, or space limitations.

By providing a Submission, you represent and warrant that you are the creator and owner of the material or that you have the necessary rights and permissions to grant this license. Additionally, you warrant that you have obtained all required releases, consents, and permissions for any people who may appear in the material and that PADI AWARE's use of the submission will not violate or infringe upon any third-party rights.

By uploading any photo or video onto a PADI AWARE related platform you are confirming that you own and have the right and permission of those in the photos or videos to post and distribute it publicly and understand that PADI AWARE and others who visit the site may download and use that content.

We respect other people's rights, and expect you to do the same. You will not post content or take any action that infringes or violates someone else's rights or otherwise violates the law. We can remove any content or information you post if we believe that it violates this Statement.

PADI AWARE may disclose personally identifiable information to government authorities, and to other third parties when compelled to do so by government authorities, at our discretion, or otherwise as required or permitted by law, including but not limited to in response to court orders and subpoenas.

We also may disclose personally identifiable information when we have reason to believe that someone is causing injury to or interference with our rights or property, other users of the website or anyone else that could be harmed by such activities.

If applicable, PADI AWARE shares some non-personally identifiable information with third party providers to track and analyze site usage on an anonymous basis. This is not linked to any information that can identify any individual.

In the event that PADI AWARE, any affiliate of PADI AWARE, or substantially all of its assets, are acquired by one or more third parties as a result of an acquisition, merger, sale, reorganization, consolidation or liquidation, non-personally identifiable information may be one of the transferred assets.

We implement appropriate technical and organizational measures to protect against accidental or unlawful loss, alteration, unauthorized access or disclosure. These measures are proportionate to the risks presented by the processing and the nature of the data.

Security measures include, where appropriate, encryption of data, access controls, secure storage, regular monitoring, and periodic reviews of our practices to align with evolving industry standards.

If we become aware of a data breach affecting your personal information, we will take steps to mitigate the impact and comply with all applicable legal notification obligations. Where required, this may include notifying relevant supervisory authorities and affected individuals within the time periods prescribed by law.

We also require our service providers and partners to implement comparable security measures and comply with applicable data protection laws.

Web server logs: A web server log is a file where website activity is stored, such as your internet provider (IP) address, date of visit, length of visit, what pages you visit on our websites, etc.

Clear GIFs: A clear GIF is typically a one-pixel, transparent image (although it can be a visible image as well), located on a Web page or in an email or other type of message, which is retrieved from a remote site on the Internet enabling us to track and analyze your usage of our site. The information collected through pixel tags is non-personally identifiable.

Third-Party ad servers: We may use third-party advertising companies to serve ads on a variety of different websites that are intended to attract visitors to our site. These companies may employ cookies, clear GIFs and other technologies to track non-personally identifiable information about your visits to other sites involved in PADI AWARE advertising campaigns in order to help measure and improve the effectiveness of PADI AWARE's ads. This information may be shared with PADI AWARE and others performing services on behalf of PADI AWARE.

If you would like more information about how third-party ad servers work and to understand your choices about not having this information used by these companies, see the Network Advertising Initiative's consumer website at networkadvertising.org.

PADI AWARE assumes no responsibility, and shall not be liable for, any damages to or viruses that may infect your computer equipment or other property due to your access to, use of, browsing of, or downloading of any materials from padiaware.org.

If you believe that any material appearing on a PADI AWARE website or platform infringes your copyright, you may submit a Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) notice to our designated agent:

PADI AWARE Foundation
30151 Tomas
Rancho Santa Margarita, CA 92688
Email: [email protected]
Phone: +1 949 858 7657

To be effective under the DMCA, your notice must include:

• A physical or electronic signature of the copyright owner or an authorized representative
• Identification of the copyrighted work claimed to have been infringed
• Identification of the allegedly infringing material and its location on our site
• Your contact information, including address, telephone number and email address
• A statement that you have a good faith belief that the use is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law
• A statement under penalty of perjury that the information in the notice is accurate and that you are authorized to act on behalf of the copyright owner

Upon receiving a valid DMCA notice, PADI AWARE will respond in accordance with the DMCA and applicable international copyright laws.

If you wish to withdraw permission for future use of your Submission, you may contact us at the email address above. We will make reasonable efforts to comply with such requests on a go-forward basis, but we cannot retract materials already published or distributed prior to your request.

You may contact PADI AWARE via [email protected] or by phone, fax, or email, or in writing to:

PADI AWARE Foundation
30151 Tomas
Rancho Santa Margarita, CA 92688
United States
Phone: +1 949 858 7657
Toll free: +1 866 802 9273
Fax: +1 949 267 1221

AWARE reserves the right at its discretion to change, modify, add or remove portions of this policy, at any time.

We will communicate any updates to our policy on our site for any site visitors.

We encourage you to check this policy from time to time to review any changes that might be made. The date found below tells you when this policy was last updated.

Revised: Sept. 1, 2026