Institution of the Americas (IOTA), operated by Rick Alonzo between the United States and Colombia, determines how information submitted to this website and its linked contact form is used. This notice covers institutionoftheamericas.com and the IOTA contact site hosted on ChatGPT Sites. Effective and last updated: October 3, 2026. For privacy questions, use the privacy request form in section 14.

The contact form collects your name, email, optional organization, and message. It records your consent time and notice version. A valid name, email, message, and consent are needed for a general inquiry. Reading articles requires no account or subscription. Hosting providers process IP addresses, browser/device information, requested pages, timestamps, and security logs. The form temporarily stores a hashed IP-derived identifier to limit repeated submissions. This is pseudonymous information, not anonymous data. Existing customer and billing records, if any, remain separate from the open article library.

We use inquiry details to review and respond to your message on your specific consent. You may withdraw consent through the privacy request form, without affecting earlier lawful processing. Withdrawal may prevent further handling of the inquiry. Where applicable, steps you request toward an engagement can be processed to enter or perform a contract. Security and abuse prevention serve our legitimate interest in protecting the website and messages. Privacy requests and legally required records are handled to meet applicable legal obligations. Inquiry senders are not added to marketing lists. We do not use these messages for automated decisions with legal or similarly significant effects.

Squarespace hosts the main website. OpenAI ChatGPT Sites and its hosting subprocessors, including Cloudflare for the contact application, provide hosting, storage, security, and private-inbox sign-in. Email providers process replies. The inquiry inbox is restricted to Rick. Providers receive information needed for their functions under applicable terms and privacy arrangements. Instagram, Patreon, and Substack are external links; their policies apply when you visit or interact there. Existing course/payment records, if any, are handled by relevant website, payment, and email providers for access, transactions, support, and legal records. We may disclose information when legally required or needed for legal claims. We do not sell personal information or share it for cross-context behavioral advertising.

Please do not submit passwords, government identifiers, payment card details, financial account numbers, medical information, identity documents, or other sensitive personal data through the inquiry or privacy request form. The form is intended for ordinary contact details and the context needed to respond. We do not use sensitive information for profiling or advertising.

The general website inquiry form is not a mortgage, loan, investment, or real estate application. If an engagement requires regulated or sensitive information, it must be handled through an appropriate separate process and any applicable sector-specific privacy notice. Existing billing and customer records are separate from the open article library.

IOTA uses Strategic Business Intelligence to support organizational and business decisions. The general inquiry form is used to communicate about the work or a potential engagement. It does not make automated decisions about employment, lending, housing, insurance, or other eligibility, and contact messages are not sent by this application to an AI model for analysis.

General inquiries and consent records in the contact application expire 12 months after submission and are removed on the next form or inbox access. The IP-derived submission identifier is cleared after 24 hours on the next form or inbox access. Earlier deletion can be requested. Active engagement records, email correspondence, legal claims, accounting records, and privacy-request records may need longer retention according to their purpose and applicable law. Provider backups and operational logs follow their own schedules.

You may request access, correction, deletion, a copy of your information, withdrawal of consent, or objection/restriction where applicable. European rights may include portability and a complaint to your local supervisory authority. California rights, where the CCPA applies, may include knowing/accessing collected information, correction, deletion, opting out of sale/sharing, limiting certain sensitive-information uses, and non-discrimination. Use the form in section 14. We may verify identity through the email associated with your inquiry and request only information reasonably needed to protect your data. Authorized representatives may identify their role. Where GDPR applies, the usual response deadline is one month; where CCPA applies, it is generally 45 days, with permitted extensions and notice. Other requests are handled reasonably promptly.

Necessary cookies support security, sessions, and preferences. Squarespace optional analytics cookies remain restricted until accepted. You can reject optional cookies and change your choice through Cookie Preferences. The detailed Squarespace visitor activity log is disabled. The contact application adds no advertising pixels or analytics cookies and serves its fonts from its own site. Hosting and sign-in providers may use necessary technologies. Other Squarespace-delivered fonts and assets may involve provider requests. We do not sell information or share it for cross-context behavioral advertising; Global Privacy Control therefore has no sale/sharing activity to disable. Traditional Do Not Track signals do not separately change necessary processing; cookie choices remain available.

We use HTTPS, server-side inbox authorization, limited form fields, and submission controls. No website can guarantee absolute security. IOTA operates in the United States and Colombia; providers may process information in other countries. Where European data-protection rules apply, provider transfer arrangements can include adequacy mechanisms and standard contractual clauses. Squarespace and OpenAI publish data-processing addenda describing transfer safeguards. Contact us for information about safeguards relevant to your data. This notice does not mean all providers store data exclusively in Europe.

These websites and inquiry forms are not directed to children under 16. Please contact us through the privacy request form if a child has provided information so that we can assess removal.

Effective and last updated: October 3, 2026. We publish changes here with an updated effective date and explain material changes as required by applicable law. This notice reflects the open article library and the contact form hosted on ChatGPT Sites.

To request access, correction, deletion, a copy of your data, withdrawal of consent, or information about our practices, use our privacy request form: https://iota-contact.institution-8788.chatgpt.site/privacy-request. Include the email associated with your inquiry and explain your request. Do not send identity documents or sensitive personal information. Request details are used to verify and handle the request, not for marketing. The current collection notice is also available at https://iota-contact.institution-8788.chatgpt.site/privacy.