Privacy Policy

1. The short version

We collect the minimum we need to teach you networking, reply to your messages, and understand which content helps students the most. We do not sell your personal information. We do not run advertising cookies or cross-site behavioral tracking. Site analytics rely on Google Analytics 4 (see Section 4).

2. Who this policy applies to

This policy covers packetmentor.com and any subdomains operated by PacketMentor. If you are a resident of California, Virginia, Colorado, Connecticut, Utah, or another US state with a comprehensive consumer privacy law, additional rights apply — see Section 9 (US State Privacy Rights).

3. What we collect

• Contact form data — name, email address, and message content when you fill out the contact form or the practice-exam study-plan form. Optionally, the program you're interested in.
• Newsletter opt-ins — email address (and any name/preferences you provide) when you subscribe to the newsletter.
• Booking data — name, email, timezone, and appointment details when you book a free first session via our third-party scheduling provider (Cal.com).
• Chat conversations — if you use the in-page chat widget, the conversation content and the identifiers our chat provider uses to persist your session (see Section 4).
• Analytics data — pages viewed, referring source, approximate location (country/region), device type, browser type, and interactions such as practice-exam completions and free-session bookings. Collected via Google Analytics 4 using cookies and similar technologies.
• Server and edge logs — IP address, user agent, timestamp, and the URLs you request. Kept temporarily by our CDN (Cloudflare) for security, abuse prevention, and diagnostics.
• Practice-exam local data — if you use the on-site practice exam, your attempt history and preferences are stored in your browser's local storage. This data stays on your device and is not transmitted to us unless you submit the study-plan form.

4. Third-party services we use

We use a small set of vendors to make the site work. Each is a separate data controller or processor with its own privacy policy, linked below.

• Google Analytics 4 — pageview and event analytics. Sets first-party cookies (e.g. _ga, _ga_*). IP anonymization is enabled at collection. See Google's privacy policy.
• Cloudflare — CDN, DNS, WAF, and email routing. Processes IP addresses and request metadata for delivery and security. See Cloudflare's privacy policy.
• Formsubmit — routes contact-form submissions to info@packetmentor.com. See Formsubmit's privacy policy.
• Cal.com — appointment scheduling for the free first session. See Cal.com's privacy policy.
• MailerLite — newsletter delivery (only if you opt in). See MailerLite's privacy policy.
• Simplify360 / Nextiva — the optional in-page chat widget. See Nextiva's privacy policy.
• YouTube — when we embed a video, YouTube may set cookies. We use the privacy-enhanced embed where available.

We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information to third parties.

5. Cookies and similar technologies

Cookies are small text files stored by your browser. We categorize them as follows:

• Strictly necessary — session state, security, and functional preferences (e.g. remembering that you dismissed a banner). Always active.
• Analytics — Google Analytics 4 cookies (_ga, _ga_*) used to measure aggregate usage. You can opt out at any time by installing the Google Analytics Opt-Out Browser Add-on or by enabling Global Privacy Control in your browser (we honor GPC signals for US users as an opt-out of analytics profiling).
• Third-party functional — Cal.com and the chat widget may set cookies when you interact with them, to persist your session with those services.

We do not use advertising cookies, retargeting pixels, or cross-site tracking cookies.

6. How long we keep your data

• Contact-form and study-plan submissions — retained in our email inbox for up to 24 months for follow-up and record-keeping, then deleted on request.
• Newsletter subscribers — until you unsubscribe. Every email includes a one-click unsubscribe link.
• Booking records — retained by Cal.com per their own retention policy; we delete our copy 24 months after the last session.
• Analytics (GA4) — retained per our GA4 data-retention setting (26 months of user- and event-level data). Aggregate reports may be kept longer.
• Server / edge logs — kept by Cloudflare for up to a few weeks for security and diagnostics, then deleted per their retention schedule.

7. Your general rights

You can, at any time:

• Request a copy of the personal information we hold about you.
• Ask us to correct information that is inaccurate.
• Ask us to delete your information (subject to legal record-keeping duties).
• Withdraw consent for the newsletter by unsubscribing.
• Opt out of analytics by using GPC, the GA opt-out add-on, or a tracking blocker.

To exercise any of these rights, email info@packetmentor.com with the subject "Privacy request." We respond within 14 days (and no later than 45 days for California residents, as required by law).

8. Children's privacy (COPPA)

PacketMentor is not directed to children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe a child has provided us personal information, email info@packetmentor.com and we will delete it promptly.

9. US state privacy rights

California residents (CCPA / CPRA)

Under the California Consumer Privacy Act (as amended by the California Privacy Rights Act), California residents have the right to:

• Know what personal information we collect, how we use it, and to whom we disclose it.
• Access a copy of the personal information we hold about you.
• Correct inaccurate personal information.
• Delete your personal information, subject to certain exceptions.
• Opt out of "sale" or "sharing" of personal information. We do not sell or share personal information as those terms are defined by the CCPA, including for cross-context behavioral advertising.
• Limit the use of sensitive personal information — we do not collect sensitive PI as defined by California law.
• Non-discrimination — we will not deny service, charge a different price, or provide a different quality of service because you exercised these rights.

To submit a request, email info@packetmentor.com with the subject "California privacy request." We verify identity through a matching email address (and, for sensitive requests, one follow-up confirmation). You may designate an authorized agent in writing. Categories collected in the last 12 months: identifiers (name, email, IP), internet/network activity, geolocation (approximate, from IP), and commercial information (which programs you inquired about). Sources: directly from you and from our analytics/CDN vendors. Purposes: as described in Sections 3 and 4. Disclosures for business purposes: only to the vendors listed in Section 4.

We honor Global Privacy Control (GPC) signals from California users as an opt-out of any activity that could be considered "sharing" under CPRA.

Virginia, Colorado, Connecticut, Utah, and other US state residents

If you are a resident of Virginia (VCDPA), Colorado (CPA), Connecticut (CTDPA), Utah (UCPA), or another US state with a comprehensive consumer privacy law, you have substantively similar rights to access, correct, delete, and opt out of targeted advertising. Since we do not conduct targeted advertising or sell personal data, the opt-out is effectively already in place. Email info@packetmentor.com for any access, correction, or deletion request.

10. Security

The site is served over HTTPS with TLS. Data in transit is encrypted. We use reputable vendors (listed in Section 4) that maintain their own security programs. We limit access to personal information to what is needed to operate the service.

11. International visitors

This site is available worldwide. Its content is written in English for a CCNA/CCNP training audience. Personal data is processed by the third-party vendors listed in Section 4, each of which operates infrastructure across multiple regions. Data-protection laws vary by jurisdiction — if you have specific rights under GDPR, CCPA, or another regime, contact us at the address below and we will honor applicable statutory obligations.

12. Changes

We'll update this page and bump the "Last updated" date when the policy changes. Material changes are also announced to newsletter subscribers.

13. Contact

For any privacy request or question, contact info@packetmentor.com. We respond within 14 days (and within statutory deadlines for state-law requests).