
THE ACADEMY OF NAIL DESIGN & CONCEPTS AND CONNECTIONS
PRIVACY POLICY
Concepts And Connections / The Academy of Nail Design
(“C&C” / “TAOND”)
Last Updated: September 24, 2026
Address: 1051 2nd Avenue E., Suite #227, Owen Sound, ON N4K 2H8, Canada
Telephone: 1-844-998-2663
Email: support@taond.com or info@conceptsandconnections.com
Concepts And Connections (“C&C”) and The Academy of Nail Design (“TAOND”) respect your privacy and are committed to protecting personal information.
This Privacy Policy explains what personal information we collect, how and why we use it, when it may be shared, how we protect and retain it, and the privacy rights that may be available to you.
We are based in Ontario, Canada and provide services internationally. Depending on where you are located and how you interact with us, applicable privacy laws may include Canadian privacy legislation, the EU General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”), the UK GDPR, and other applicable privacy laws.
This Policy applies to individuals interacting with C&C and TAOND, including website visitors, students, graduates, members, coaches, ambassadors, directory users, Partner Schools, Partner School instructors and students, practice clients whose information is submitted as part of educational activities, and other individuals using our services.
C&C and TAOND operate educational, coaching, membership, directory, Partnership School, certification, and related services.
For applicable privacy and data-protection purposes, the organization responsible for personal information will depend upon the service through which the information is collected.
Our contact information is:
Concepts And Connections / The Academy of Nail Design
1051 2nd Avenue E., Suite #227
Owen Sound, ON N4K 2H8
Canada
Privacy Officer: Privacy Officer – C&C / TAOND
Email: support@taond.com
Telephone: 1-844-998-2663
The Privacy Officer is responsible for overseeing our privacy practices and responding to privacy questions, requests, and complaints.
The information we collect depends upon how you interact with C&C or TAOND.
2.1 Information You Provide
We may collect:
Payment card or financial information may be collected and processed directly by third-party payment providers rather than stored directly by C&C or TAOND.
2.2 Practice-Client Information
Certain TAOND educational programs require students to complete practical activities using practice clients.
As part of these activities, students may submit Client Profile Sheets (“CPS Forms”), photographs, practical documentation, service observations, or other assessment evidence containing information about a practice client.
Students and Partner Schools should provide only information reasonably necessary to satisfy the applicable educational or assessment requirement.
Where consent or other authorization is required to collect, photograph, document, or submit practice-client information, the student and/or Partner School is responsible for obtaining the appropriate authorization before submitting that information to TAOND.
Certain CPS or practical documentation may contain information concerning health, physical conditions, contraindications, or similar sensitive information. Where applicable, such information will be handled in accordance with additional requirements imposed by applicable privacy laws.
Under UK GDPR, for example, health information can constitute special-category data and requires both an Article 6 lawful basis and an applicable Article 9 condition.
2.3 Automatically Collected Information
When you use our websites, LMS platforms, or online services, we may automatically collect information such as:
2.4 Information From Third Parties
We may receive information from service providers or other authorized sources, including:
We collect and use personal information for purposes reasonably connected with operating C&C and TAOND, including to:
We do not sell personal information.
Where GDPR, UK GDPR, or similar legislation applies, we process personal information using an appropriate lawful basis depending upon the purpose and circumstances.
4.1 Contract
We may process information where necessary to enter into or perform a contract, including to:
4.2 Legitimate Interests
Where permitted by applicable law, we may process information where reasonably necessary for our legitimate interests, including:
We consider applicable individual privacy rights when relying upon legitimate interests.
4.3 Consent
Where required, we may rely upon consent for activities such as:
Where processing is based upon consent, you may withdraw that consent, subject to applicable law.
4.4 Legal Obligations
We may process information where necessary to comply with legal obligations, including tax, accounting, regulatory, recordkeeping, fraud-prevention, or lawful disclosure requirements.
4.5 Sensitive or Special-Category Information
Where applicable privacy law provides additional protection for sensitive or special-category information, we will rely upon an appropriate legal basis and any additional condition required by applicable law.
Lawful bases should be determined according to the particular processing purpose, and special-category data requires an additional processing condition where GDPR/UK GDPR applies.
We may share personal information where reasonably necessary for the purposes described in this Policy.
5.1 Service Providers
We may use third-party providers for services including:
We endeavour to provide service providers only with information reasonably necessary for their functions and to use appropriate contractual or other safeguards where required.
Canadian privacy guidance provides that organizations remain accountable for personal information transferred to third parties for processing and should use contractual or other means to provide appropriate protection.
5.2 C&C and TAOND
Where C&C and TAOND operate under common ownership or shared administrative systems, information may be shared internally where reasonably necessary to provide services, administer programs, support users, maintain records, or operate the businesses.
5.3 Partner Schools
Where you participate in a TAOND program through a Partner School, relevant information may be shared between TAOND and the applicable Partner School as reasonably necessary to administer your registration, program access, academic progress, grading, completion, certification, or support.
5.4 Legal and Protective Purposes
We may disclose information where required or permitted by law or where reasonably necessary to:
5.5 Business Transfers
If all or part of C&C or TAOND is sold, merged, reorganized, financed, or transferred, personal information may be transferred as part of that transaction, subject to applicable privacy requirements.
C&C and TAOND operate from Canada and use service providers that may operate internationally.
Personal information may therefore be stored or processed in Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, the European Economic Area, or other jurisdictions in which we or our service providers operate.
Information processed outside your jurisdiction may be subject to the laws of the country where it is processed.
Where applicable law requires additional safeguards for international transfers, we will use appropriate contractual, organizational, technical, or other legally recognized safeguards.
For EU/UK users, applicable international-transfer rules may require adequacy arrangements, contractual safeguards, or another legally permitted transfer mechanism depending upon the circumstances.
Our websites and online services may use cookies and similar technologies to:
Where required by applicable law, non-essential cookies will be used only after appropriate consent has been obtained.
You may also manage cookies through your browser settings, although disabling certain cookies may affect website functionality.
We may use analytics services, including Google Analytics, to understand how visitors interact with our websites. These services may collect device, browser, usage, IP-address, cookie, or similar information according to their applicable settings and privacy practices.
C&C and TAOND may use authorized technology, including artificial intelligence or automated tools, to assist with functions such as customer support, administration, educational support, grading assistance, security, fraud prevention, or other business operations.
Where such technology processes personal information, we endeavour to limit the information used to what is reasonably necessary and apply appropriate privacy and security safeguards.
Partner Schools, instructors, students, and other users are not authorized to upload TAOND proprietary materials or personal information contained in student coursework, CPS forms, or practice-client documentation to unauthorized third-party artificial intelligence or automated systems.
Where applicable law imposes specific requirements concerning automated decision-making or profiling, we will comply with those requirements.
We retain personal information only for as long as reasonably necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, including:
Retention periods vary depending upon the type of information, the service involved, and applicable legal and operational requirements.
TAOND may retain limited graduate, academic, and certification information after program completion or account expiration where reasonably necessary to maintain educational records, verify credentials, and prevent certificate fraud.
When information is no longer reasonably required, we take reasonable steps to delete, destroy, or anonymize it, subject to applicable legal or legitimate recordkeeping requirements.
Student or member accounts may expire, suspend, or be deleted according to applicable Terms & Conditions. Users are responsible for retaining copies of their own work where appropriate.
Canadian privacy principles require organizations to limit retention and establish procedures for retention and destruction.
TAOND may maintain records concerning certificates and credentials issued through its programs.
These records may include information reasonably necessary to confirm that a credential was legitimately issued, including the graduate’s name, program, completion information, certificate number, credential status, or other verification information.
TAOND may use unique certificate numbers, QR codes, digital verification systems, or other methods to help verify credentials and prevent unauthorized copying or certificate fraud.
If TAOND introduces a publicly accessible graduate or credential-verification system, information made publicly available will be limited to information reasonably necessary for credential verification and handled in accordance with applicable privacy requirements.
Privacy rights vary depending upon your location and applicable law.
Subject to applicable exceptions, you may have rights to:
Canadian privacy principles include rights relating to access, accuracy and challenging an organization’s privacy compliance.
If you are located in the EU or UK, additional rights may be available under the GDPR or UK GDPR, including rights relating to access, rectification, erasure, restriction, objection, portability, consent withdrawal, and certain automated decisions.
To submit a privacy request, contact our Privacy Officer at:
support@taond.com
We may need to verify your identity before completing certain requests.
Some rights are subject to legal exceptions and may not apply in every circumstance.
If you have a concern about how C&C or TAOND has handled your personal information, please contact our Privacy Officer so that we can review and respond to your concern.
Depending upon your jurisdiction, you may also have the right to submit a complaint to an applicable privacy or data-protection authority.
Individuals in Canada may have complaint rights through the applicable federal or provincial privacy regulator.
Individuals in the EU or UK may have the right to complain to their applicable supervisory authority.
Canadian accountability guidance specifically contemplates a designated privacy official and procedures for handling privacy complaints and access requests.
Certain TAOND educational services or practical activities may be available to individuals under 18 where permitted.
Where parent or guardian authorization is required by applicable law, TAOND policy, a Partner School, or the applicable educational activity, the required authorization must be obtained before the minor’s personal information is submitted or the applicable activity is undertaken.
We do not knowingly collect personal information from children in circumstances where doing so is prohibited by applicable law.
Privacy requirements concerning minors vary by jurisdiction. Where services are offered to minors, we will apply applicable consent and privacy requirements.
The UK ICO notes that children’s information requires an appropriate lawful basis and that special-category information about children can trigger additional requirements.
We use reasonable administrative, technical, and organizational measures designed to protect personal information against unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, loss, misuse, or destruction.
Measures may include, as appropriate:
The safeguards used may vary depending upon the sensitivity, quantity, format, and risks associated with the information.
No website, database, electronic transmission, or storage system can be guaranteed to be completely secure. Users should protect their login credentials, use strong passwords, and notify us if they believe their account has been compromised.
Appropriate safeguards relative to the sensitivity of information are a core Canadian privacy principle.
If we become aware of a privacy or security incident involving personal information, we will investigate the incident and take reasonable steps to contain, assess, and address it.
Where required by applicable law, we will notify affected individuals, privacy regulators, or other appropriate authorities.
We may also maintain records concerning privacy and security incidents where required by law.
The Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada identifies breach and incident-management protocols as part of an organization’s privacy-management responsibilities.
Our websites, LMS platforms, communities, emails, or other services may contain links to third-party websites or services.
C&C and TAOND are not responsible for the privacy practices, content, security, or policies of independent third parties.
We encourage users to review the privacy policies of third-party services before providing personal information.
We take reasonable steps to maintain personal information that is sufficiently accurate, complete, and current for the purposes for which it is used.
You are responsible for providing accurate information and for notifying us when important account or contact information changes.
You may contact us to request correction of inaccurate personal information, subject to applicable law.
Where permitted by applicable law, we may send information concerning C&C or TAOND programs, services, memberships, events, educational opportunities, or other updates.
Where consent is required, marketing communications will be sent with the appropriate consent.
You may unsubscribe from marketing emails using the unsubscribe option provided in the communication or by contacting us.
Unsubscribing from marketing does not prevent us from sending necessary transactional, account, program, security, legal, or administrative communications.
We may update this Privacy Policy periodically to reflect changes in our programs, technology, privacy practices, service providers, business operations, or applicable laws.
The current version will display the applicable Last Updated date.
Where required by applicable law, we will provide additional notice or obtain consent before materially changing how personal information is collected, used, or disclosed.
We will not rely solely upon continued use of our services as consent where applicable law requires a different form of authorization.
This approach is consistent with Canadian guidance that a new use or disclosure can require fresh consent.
Questions, privacy requests, complaints, or concerns may be directed to:
Privacy Officer
Concepts And Connections / The Academy of Nail Design
1051 2nd Avenue E.
Suite #227
Owen Sound, ON N4K 2H8
Canada
Telephone: 1-844-998-2663
TAOND: support@taond.com