Privacy Policy

Introduction and Scope

Hibiki Voice and Guitar ("we," "our," or "us") is committed to protecting your privacy and ensuring transparency in how we collect, use, and safeguard your personal information. This Privacy Policy explains our practices regarding data collection and processing when you use our lesson booking platform, interact with our instructors, or visit our studio facilities in Tokyo, Japan.

This policy applies to all individuals who book lessons, visit our website, use our mobile applications, attend in-person or online sessions, or otherwise interact with our services. By using our platform, you acknowledge that you have read and understood this policy.

Information We Collect

We collect various types of information to provide and improve our music instruction services:

Account and Profile Information: When you register for an account, we collect your name, email address, phone number, preferred language (English or Japanese), musical experience level, lesson preferences, and payment information. You may optionally provide additional details such as learning goals, preferred music genres, and availability schedule.

Lesson and Progress Data: We record information about your booked lessons, attendance history, instructor feedback, practice assignments, progress assessments, skill evaluations, and performance recordings when you use our studio facilities or opt into recording features.

Communication Records: We maintain records of your communications with us, including customer support inquiries, instructor messages, booking confirmations, lesson reminders, and feedback submissions to ensure quality service and resolve any issues.

Technical and Usage Information: Our systems automatically collect device information, IP addresses, browser types, operating systems, pages viewed, time spent on pages, referring URLs, and interaction patterns to improve platform functionality and user experience.

How We Use Your Information

Your information enables us to deliver personalized music education and maintain our service quality. We use collected data to facilitate lesson bookings and scheduling, match you with appropriate instructors based on your preferences and skill level, process payments securely, and communicate important updates about your lessons and our services.

We analyze your progress data to provide personalized learning recommendations, track skill development, and help instructors tailor their teaching approaches to your needs. Your information also helps us improve our curriculum, identify popular lesson formats, optimize instructor scheduling, and develop new services that better serve our student community.

Additionally, we use aggregated and anonymized data for research purposes, platform improvements, and to understand broader trends in music education preferences across our student base.

Legal Basis for Processing

Under applicable data protection laws, including Japan's Act on the Protection of Personal Information (APPI), we process your personal information based on several legal foundations. Processing is necessary to fulfill our contractual obligations when you book lessons, maintain your account, and receive instruction services.

We have legitimate business interests in improving our services, preventing fraud, ensuring platform security, and communicating with you about relevant offerings. Where required by law, we obtain your explicit consent for specific processing activities, such as marketing communications or optional data collection. We also process information when necessary to comply with legal obligations, respond to law enforcement requests, or protect the rights and safety of our students, instructors, and staff.

Information Sharing and Disclosure

We share your information only as necessary to provide our services and as described in this policy. Your profile information and lesson preferences are shared with instructors you book to enable them to prepare appropriate materials and provide personalized instruction. We do not sell your personal information to third parties.

We engage trusted service providers who assist with payment processing, email communications, data storage, customer support platforms, and analytics tools. These providers are contractually obligated to protect your information and use it only for specified purposes.

We may disclose information when required by law, in response to valid legal processes, to protect our rights or property, to prevent fraud or security threats, or with your explicit consent. In the event of a business transfer, merger, or acquisition, your information may be transferred to the acquiring entity, subject to the same privacy protections.

Data Retention and Storage

We retain your personal information for as long as necessary to provide services, comply with legal obligations, resolve disputes, and enforce our agreements. Active account information is maintained while your account remains open and for a reasonable period thereafter to facilitate reactivation.

Lesson records, progress data, and payment information are retained for seven years following your last interaction with our services, consistent with Japanese accounting and tax regulations. Communication records are kept for three years to maintain service quality and resolve potential disputes.

Technical and usage data are typically retained for 24 months in identifiable form, after which they are anonymized or deleted. When you request account deletion, we remove or anonymize your information within 30 days, except where retention is required by law or necessary for legitimate business purposes such as fraud prevention.

Your Rights and Choices

You have significant control over your personal information and how we use it. You may access your account data at any time through your profile settings, where you can view, update, or correct your information. You have the right to request a copy of all personal information we hold about you in a portable format.

You may request deletion of your account and associated data, subject to our legal retention obligations. You can object to certain processing activities, such as marketing communications, by adjusting your preferences or contacting us directly. Where we rely on consent as the legal basis for processing, you may withdraw that consent at any time.

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at privacy@tovrenbrook.com. We will respond to verified requests within 30 days and provide assistance if you need help accessing or understanding your data.

Security Measures and Safeguards

We implement comprehensive security measures to protect your information from unauthorized access, alteration, disclosure, or destruction. Our technical safeguards include encryption of data in transit and at rest, secure socket layer (SSL) technology for all transactions, regular security audits and vulnerability assessments, and multi-factor authentication for account access.

Our organizational measures include employee training on data protection, strict access controls limiting information access to authorized personnel only, confidentiality agreements with all staff and contractors, and incident response procedures for potential data breaches.

While we strive to protect your information using industry-standard practices, no method of transmission or storage is completely secure. We encourage you to use strong passwords, enable available security features, and notify us immediately of any suspected unauthorized account access.

Children's Privacy Protection

Our services are designed for adult learners and teens aged 13 and older. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13 without verifiable parental consent. If a parent or guardian becomes aware that their child has provided us with information without consent, please contact us immediately.

For students between 13 and 18 years old, we require parental or guardian consent before creating an account. Parents may access, review, and request deletion of their child's information by contacting our support team. We take additional precautions when processing information relating to minors and limit data collection to what is necessary for providing lesson services.

International Data Transfers

Your information is primarily processed and stored within Japan. However, some of our service providers may be located in other countries, including the United States and European Union member states. When we transfer information internationally, we implement appropriate safeguards to ensure your data receives adequate protection.

These safeguards include standard contractual clauses approved by relevant data protection authorities, ensuring service providers maintain security measures consistent with this policy, and limiting transfers to jurisdictions recognized as providing adequate data protection. We regularly review our international data transfer practices to ensure ongoing compliance with applicable laws.

Cookies and Tracking Technologies

We use cookies, web beacons, and similar technologies to enhance your experience on our platform. Essential cookies are necessary for basic functionality, including maintaining your login session, processing bookings, and ensuring platform security.

Performance and analytics cookies help us understand how you use our services, identify technical issues, and improve user interface design. We use third-party analytics services that may collect information about your interactions across multiple websites and services.

You can control cookie preferences through your browser settings or our cookie consent banner. Disabling certain cookies may limit your ability to use some platform features. For detailed information about our cookie practices, please review our Cookie Policy.

Marketing Communications and Preferences

With your consent, we may send you promotional emails about new instructors, special lesson packages, studio events, educational content, and service updates. You can control your communication preferences through your account settings or by using the unsubscribe link in any marketing email.

Even if you opt out of marketing communications, we will still send you essential service-related messages, including booking confirmations, lesson reminders, payment receipts, policy updates, and important security notifications. These transactional communications are necessary for providing our services and cannot be disabled while you maintain an active account.

Third-Party Services and Links

Our platform may contain links to third-party websites, instructor personal websites, payment processors, or social media platforms. We are not responsible for the privacy practices or content of these external sites. We encourage you to review the privacy policies of any third-party services you access through our platform.

Some instructors may use additional tools or platforms for lesson delivery, practice tracking, or communication. While we require instructors to maintain appropriate data protection standards, their use of third-party services may be subject to separate privacy policies. We recommend discussing data practices with your instructor if you have specific concerns.

Business Analytics and Research

We conduct research and analysis using aggregated, anonymized data to understand music education trends, improve our curriculum, evaluate program effectiveness, and contribute to the broader music education community. This research does not identify individual students and protects your privacy while helping us advance music instruction practices.

Anonymized insights may be shared with educational partners, industry organizations, or in published research, but never in a way that could identify you personally. If we wish to use your specific data for case studies or testimonials, we will always request explicit consent and provide you with review and approval rights.

Data Breach Notification

In the unlikely event of a data breach affecting your personal information, we will notify you and relevant authorities as required by law. Notifications will be provided without undue delay, typically within 72 hours of becoming aware of the breach, unless law enforcement requests a delay for investigative purposes.

Our breach notification will include the nature of the incident, types of information affected, steps we are taking to address the breach, measures you can take to protect yourself, and contact information for questions. We maintain an incident response plan and conduct regular security drills to ensure rapid and effective breach response.

Policy Updates and Changes

We may update this Privacy Policy periodically to reflect changes in our practices, services, legal requirements, or industry standards. When we make material changes, we will notify you by email, through a prominent notice on our platform, or by other appropriate means as required by law.

The "Last Updated" date at the top of this policy indicates when changes were last made. Your continued use of our services after policy updates constitutes acceptance of the revised policy. We encourage you to review this policy regularly to stay informed about how we protect your information. For questions about policy changes, contact our privacy team at privacy@tovrenbrook.com.

Contact Information and Complaints

If you have questions, concerns, or complaints about this Privacy Policy or our data practices, please contact us:

Email: privacy@tovrenbrook.com
Phone: +81 3-5521-0730
Mail: Hibiki Voice and Guitar, 2 Chome-10-4 Toranomon, Minato City, Tokyo 105-0001, Japan

We are committed to resolving privacy concerns promptly and fairly. If you believe we have not adequately addressed your concerns, you have the right to file a complaint with the Personal Information Protection Commission of Japan or other relevant supervisory authority in your jurisdiction.