The short version.
Apex Studio is a small design studio run by one person — Finley Abbe. When you contact us through this website, we collect what you tell us so we can reply and help you with your project. We don't sell your information, run ads, or build profiles. If you want your data deleted, email and we'll do it. That's the whole policy in three sentences. The detail below explains the same thing more thoroughly.
What we collect.
Information you give us
When you submit our quote or contact form, you choose what to share. Typically:
- Your name
- Your email address
- Your business name (optional, on the quote form)
- Project type, budget range, and timeline (on the quote form)
- Anything you write in the message field
We only use this information to do what you asked us to do — usually reply to you, scope a project, and quote a price.
Information collected automatically
Like most websites, ours sits behind a hosting provider (Netlify) that keeps basic technical logs to keep the site running and secure. These logs may include your IP address, browser type, the pages you visit, and the time of your visit. We don't actively read these logs unless we're investigating a problem.
What we don't collect
- Payment information — there are no transactions on this website
- Sensitive personal information — we don't ask, please don't volunteer it
- Information from children — see the section below
How we use your information.
The reasons are short and unsurprising:
- To respond to your inquiry and answer your questions
- To prepare a project quote when you've requested one
- To communicate during the course of a project, if we end up working together
- To keep records of inquiries and engagements (basic business records)
- To comply with the law if required to
We do not use your information for advertising, profile-building, or anything outside the working relationship between you and Apex Studio.
Who we share it with.
We don't sell, rent, or trade your information. The only third parties who handle your data are the tools we use to run the business:
- Netlify — our website host. They process form submissions and store basic server logs. Netlify's privacy policy.
- Google Workspace — our business email and document storage. Anything you send to finley@apexstudio.agency is stored in Google's systems. Google's privacy policy.
We may also disclose information if required by law (court order, subpoena), or to protect our legal rights or the safety of others. This is rare and we'll always push back on overbroad requests.
Cookies and tracking.
This website does not use tracking cookies, advertising trackers, or third-party analytics scripts. Our hosting provider may set a small number of functional cookies for performance and security purposes (for example, to balance traffic across servers). These are not used to track you across other websites.
If we add an analytics tool in the future, we'll update this policy and tell you what changed.
How long we keep your information.
- Inquiries that don't lead to a project: we keep your message in our inbox for up to two years, then delete it. Sooner if you ask.
- Active client relationships: we keep your information for as long as we're working together, plus a reasonable period afterward (typically up to seven years) for tax, accounting, and dispute-resolution purposes, as required by law.
- Server logs: retained by our hosting provider per their standard retention. Typically a few weeks to a few months.
Your rights.
You can email finley@apexstudio.agency at any time to:
- Ask what information we have about you
- Correct anything that's wrong
- Ask us to delete your data
- Ask us to stop using your data for any non-essential purpose
- Opt out of any communication you've received
- Get a copy of your data in a portable format
We respond to these requests within 14 days. We may need to verify your identity first to make sure we're not handing data over to the wrong person.
If you live in the EU, UK, or EEA
The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) gives you all the rights above, plus the right to lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority if you think we've handled your data improperly. Our legal basis for processing your information is either your consent (when you submit a form) or our legitimate interest in running the business (responding to inquiries, fulfilling contracts).
If you live in California
The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) gives you the same rights listed above. We do not sell personal information, so the "right to opt out of sale" does not apply — there's nothing to opt out of.
How we keep your data safe.
We take reasonable steps to protect the information you share:
- The website is served exclusively over HTTPS
- Form submissions are encrypted in transit
- Our email is on Google Workspace with industry-standard security
- Access to client data is limited to Finley (the entire business)
No system is 100% secure, so please don't include sensitive personal or financial information (Social Security numbers, credit cards, medical records) in the message field. If we ever need that kind of information for a project, we'll arrange a more secure way to share it.
Children's privacy.
This website is not directed at children. We do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 16, or under 13 in the United States. If you believe a child has submitted information to us, email finley@apexstudio.agency and we'll delete it.
International transfers.
Apex Studio is based in the United States. If you contact us from outside the US, your information will be transferred to and processed in the US. By using this site, you understand and agree to that transfer.
Changes to this policy.
We may update this policy from time to time — usually because we've added a new tool or law. When we do, we'll change the "Last updated" date at the top of this page. If the change is significant, we'll note what's new at the top.
Your continued use of the site after changes are posted means you accept the updated policy. If a change isn't acceptable to you, email us and we'll work it out.
Contact us.
Questions, concerns, or requests about this policy or your information:
Apex Studio
Finley Abbe, founder
finley@apexstudio.agency