Who we are
GUILD operates gemological laboratory services, professional education programs, research publications, and related digital platforms. This Privacy Notice applies to personal information collected through guildgemlab.com and affiliated GUILD digital properties, as well as information provided when you contact us, submit samples, enroll in courses, or request services.
Information we collect
Depending on how you interact with us, we may collect:
- Identity and contact details, such as name, company, email address, phone number, and mailing address
- Professional details relevant to laboratory or education services, such as role, organization, and preferred location
- Service and transaction information, including certificate verification requests, sample submissions, course registrations, and inquiries
- Online course account and learning activity information (see “Online courses and learning activity” below)
- Technical information such as IP address, browser type, device identifiers, and pages viewed
- Marketing attribution data, such as the campaign parameters in the link you used to reach us (UTM parameters and the Meta click identifier fbclid), the page you first landed on, the referring website, and the page from which you submitted a form
- Communications you send to us, including support requests and applications
How we use information
We use personal information to:
- Provide laboratory, verification, education, and customer support services
- Respond to inquiries and administer registrations, appointments, and communications
- Review and approve online course member accounts, and deliver online course content to approved members
- Improve website performance, security, and user experience
- Measure the effectiveness of our social media content and advertising, including which channel, campaign, or ad led to an enquiry
- Comply with legal, regulatory, and professional obligations
- Send service-related notices and, where permitted, relevant institutional updates
Online courses and learning activity
If you register for a GUILD Online Courses account, we collect your name, email address, and a securely hashed password, along with whether you consented to receive course-related email updates. Registrations are reviewed before an account is approved for access.
Once you have access to a course, we record learning activity tied to your account so the platform and our team can track your progress — for example, which videos and course sections you have watched, how much of a video you watched, quiz and assessment attempts and results, and completion of course modules. We use this information to run the courses (such as unlocking the next module once you pass an assessment), to provide you with a record of your own progress, and to help us understand which content is working well and where courses could be improved.
We do not use this learning activity information for advertising, and we do not sell it. It is retained for as long as your account remains active and for a reasonable period afterward for recordkeeping, then deleted or anonymized. You may request access to, correction of, or deletion of this information as described under “Your rights” below.
Advertising and measurement
We use the Meta Pixel, a measurement tool provided by Meta Platforms, on guildgemlab.com and on our links page at guild.hk/links. It helps us measure visits, content views (for example course, field expedition, and laboratory service pages), clicks on contact links (such as WhatsApp or email), and form submissions (enquiries, brochure requests, and waitlist sign-ups). We also use Google Analytics 4, provided by Google, to understand how our websites are used.
When you submit an enquiry, brochure request, or waitlist form on our website, we record the campaign parameters (UTM parameters and fbclid) from the link that brought you to us, the page you first landed on, the referring website, and the page you submitted from, together with your submission. This lets us know which channel or ad brought the enquiry. This information is held in your browser for the current session only and is sent to GUILD only when you submit a form. If you contact us on WhatsApp from our website or links page, a short reference to the page and campaign is pre-filled in your message; you can see and edit it before sending.
We do not send your name, email address, or phone number to Meta. We do not use Meta advanced matching or server-side conversion sharing, and we do not sell personal information. No Meta Pixel events are sent from certificate verification, order tracking, or member-only pages.
Meta processes data collected through the Pixel under its own policies; see the Meta Privacy Policy at https://www.facebook.com/privacy/policy/ . You can opt out of the Meta Pixel on our website by choosing Decline in the cookie banner or under Cookie settings at the bottom of any page, by blocking or deleting cookies in your browser settings, and by managing your ad settings with Meta at https://www.facebook.com/adpreferences/ . On our links page, you can block cookies through your browser settings.
Legal bases
Where applicable data-protection laws require a legal basis, we process personal information to perform a contract, pursue legitimate interests (such as operating and securing our services), comply with legal obligations, or with your consent where consent is required.
Sharing of information
We do not sell personal information. We may share information with affiliated GUILD entities, trusted service providers who support our operations (for example hosting, analytics, advertising measurement, payment, or communications vendors), and authorities when required by law. Service providers are expected to process information only on our instructions and with appropriate safeguards.
International transfers
GUILD operates internationally. Personal information may be processed in countries other than the country where it was collected. Where required, we apply appropriate contractual and organizational safeguards for such transfers.
Retention
We retain personal information only for as long as needed for the purposes described in this notice, including to meet legal, accounting, dispute-resolution, and professional recordkeeping requirements.
Marketing attribution data recorded with a form submission is kept together with that enquiry, brochure request, or waitlist record and is retained on the same basis.
Your rights
Subject to applicable law, you may have rights to access, correct, delete, restrict, or object to certain processing of your personal information, and to withdraw consent where processing is based on consent. To exercise these rights, contact us at info{'@'}guildgemlab.com.
Security
We apply administrative, technical, and organizational measures designed to protect personal information against unauthorized access, alteration, disclosure, or destruction. No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, and we continuously improve our safeguards.
Contact
For privacy questions or requests, contact GUILD at info{'@'}guildgemlab.com. We may update this Privacy Notice from time to time; the “Last updated” date at the top of this page reflects the latest revision.