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Privacy and data use

How HelloTummy handles your information

This page explains what information we collect, how we use it, how research use works, and what choices you have.

We do not sell private or identifying information

We do not sell private information, identifying information, individual sample records, or individual result records. We also do not use identifying information for third-party advertising.

Research use is internal and can be excluded

We may use raw sequencing/result data for internal research and product improvement. If you do not want your data used for future internal research, you can ask us to exclude it.

Population statistics are not identifying

We use result data to calculate population-level summaries, such as averages and distributions. These summaries are aggregated and are not designed to identify any individual customer.

What we keep

Information we collect

Account and contact information

Name, email address, sign-in identifiers, mailing and contact details, basic profile information, and support messages you send to us.

Kit and sample information

Barcode, activation date, collection date, sample status, return-shipping status, and lab workflow records used to process your kit.

Result and sequencing information

Sequencing output, organism abundance tables, report files, raw or exported result data, and quality-control information generated during analysis.

Optional context you provide

Questionnaire answers about diet, medications, lifestyle, symptoms, sleep, stress, and related wellness context. These questions are optional unless clearly marked otherwise.

Technical and usage information

Sign-in cookies, browser storage used for preferences or unfinished selections, and basic device, browser, log, and application activity information used to operate and secure the portal.

Why it matters

How we use information

  • Activate kits and connect barcodes to the correct account.
  • Receive, process, sequence, analyze, and release sample results.
  • Display dashboards, reports, downloadable files, and support information.
  • Provide customer support and investigate account, barcode, file, or result issues.
  • Maintain lab quality records, audit trails, and operational controls.
  • Improve internal workflows, report quality, reference materials, and product features.
  • Calculate population-level statistics that help put individual results into broader context.
  • Conduct internal research using raw sequencing/result data and optional context you provide, subject to the research-choice process below.

Learning across samples

Internal research and population-level statistics

Internal research

We may use raw sequencing/result data and related non-identifying operational data for internal research, quality improvement, product development, and scientific exploration. When optional wellness answers are available, they may be used to look for broad patterns across groups.

Research exclusion requests

If you do not want your data used for future internal research, contact support and ask for a research-use exclusion. We will apply the exclusion prospectively where practical. It may not remove data from analyses, reports, quality records, backups, or aggregated statistics already created before the request was processed.

Population-level statistics

The dashboard may compare a result with population-level summaries, such as average relative abundance, prevalence, or diversity ranges. These summaries are calculated from many records and are presented as aggregate statistics. They are not identifying and are not intended to reveal another customer's information.

Authorized access

Who can access information

You can access your own account, samples, and released results. Authorized HelloTummy staff, managers, and admins may access customer, sample, lab, and result records when needed for lab processing, support, troubleshooting, quality management, security, reporting, or business operations.

We may use service providers for hosting, database, storage, email, shipping, payment, laboratory, or other operational services. We limit the information shared with them to what is reasonably needed for their role.

Outside HelloTummy

Sharing limits

We do not sell private or identifying information. We may share information when needed to operate the service, comply with law, protect rights or safety, investigate misuse, complete business transactions, or when you ask us to share information with another party.

If research findings are shared outside HelloTummy, they will be aggregated, de-identified, or otherwise presented without identifying individual customers unless you have explicitly authorized a different use.

Your information

Your choices and requests

Update account or sample details

You can update profile and sample questionnaire information through the portal where available.

Ask to exclude future research use

Contact support and ask for your data to be excluded from future internal research use.

Ask about deletion or retention

Some records may need to be retained for lab quality, legal, operational, backup, or audit reasons. We will review requests and explain what can be changed.

Report a privacy or security concern

Contact support if you believe your account, sample, result, or file access is incorrect or compromised.

Contact support How to read results

Ongoing details

Retention, changes, and contact

Retention

We keep information for as long as needed to provide the service, maintain records, support operations, comply with obligations, resolve disputes, and improve the platform.

Policy updates

We may update this page as the service changes. The version shown in the portal should be the current customer-facing privacy and data-use description.

Questions

For privacy, research-use, deletion, retention, or support questions, contact HelloTummy support through the portal support page.