Terms & Conditions
Privacy Policy
GDPR
Legal Disclaimer
Refund Policy

Terms of Service

By purchasing a membership or any course, class or product from The Polarity Institute, I understand and agree to the following terms of use:

I am 18 years or older.
I understand the Billing & Refund Policy. For the purchase of do at home courses and group classes, I may request a refund within 30 days of my purchase date. If purchasing a membership, as in a recurring term, I agree to pay a recurring fee. Should I wish to cancel my membership, I may cancel at any time and this will cease any further subscription charges. I understand that memberships are non-refundable and that I am not entitled to any refunds or pro-rated discounts given for a partial-term membership.
I acknowledge that The Polarity Institute reserves the right to cancel my membership and remove my access to all on-line materials. Reasons may include but aren’t limited to my not following the terms #1.
I understand that author John van der Steur is not a licensed therapist or medical doctor. I understand that if I want medical or mental health advice, I need to seek out a medical or mental health care professional. I agree not to hold John van der Steur or The Polarity Institute liable for any advice, consistent with The Polarity Institute’s Legal Disclaimer.
I understand The Polarity Institute has a Privacy Policy, which I may read here. I understand that The Polarity Institute will never share, rent or sell my personal information.
I understand that as part of purchase, The Polarity Institute will send me email communications consistent with its Email Policy. In every email, there will be a link to unsubscribe, as well as to “edit my preferences” or “update my profile” where I can tailor the kind and frequency of emails sent to me.

Privacy Policy

Your privacy is important to us. While we are a small company, protecting your online data is something that we take seriously and that we care about.

We aim to care for your data in a way that builds your trust in us as a company that you are choosing to do business with. We want you to know what information of yours that we collect and how we store and protect your information.

We’re making an effort to be more transparent in how we collect and use your data, and to make it easier for you to communicate with us if you have any concerns about the protection of your data.

Please take a moment to read the following policy to learn how we handle your personal information.

Why we collect personal information

The Polarity Institute collects and uses your personal information so we can serve you as effectively as possible.

The very foundation of this is building a relationship with you. We want to make sure that whether you’re an existing customer of ours, or simply interested in exploring what we have to offer, you can get the information you need about our products and services, free content from our blog, and invitations to special events like webinars.

This is only sent to people who sign up and consent to receive these materials, usually through a form on our website.

As a customer, or site visitor, these are examples of when your personal information helps us improve your experience:

During purchases
Personalizing your user experience on polarityinstitute.com
Delivering content that’s relevant and interesting to you
Identifying and responding to your customer service requests

What personal information is collected?

Not all of this information will be required – your shipping address and phone number are on a case-by-case basis. It depends on whether or not you order a physical product that needs shipping, if you call our support team, etc.

Name
Email address
The Polarity Institute username and password
Credit card information
Billing address
Shipping address
Phone number

How we collect personal information

We might ask for your contact information when you correspond with us, call us to make a purchase, or register as a user on our website. When you ask to be included in an email mailing list, such as subscribing to a newsletter, we also collect your personal information.

Due to the new GDPR policies, we ask for your explicit consent when you sign up for any of our email lists.

If you do not agree when we ask you to confirm by selecting yes, “I consent to receive information about educational materials, services, and special offers by email,” we cannot send you any kind of email marketing whatsoever.

How personal information is used

Your personal information may be shared within our organization, including with our customer service representatives. These customer service representatives will protect your personal information in accordance with the The Polarity Institute LLC Customer Privacy Policy.

We will never bombard you with a high volume of emails that feel like spam. It is our intention to only send emails that will be helpful, and relevant to you.

This may include blog articles, videos, announcements of new courses, and other educational materials.

Facebook Advertising In September of 2017, we began paying to advertise on Facebook.

With this change, we may give your email to Facebook to show you ads on Facebook later. Or, if you visit polarityinstitute.com, a piece of code called Facebook Pixel may be used to track the pages that you visit on the The Polarity Institute website. This is for the purpose of enabling us to show you ads on Facebook at a later time.

The Polarity Institute LLC will not share your contact information nor personal preferences with organizations outside of our company for any reason.

At times we may be required by law or legal process to disclose your personal information.

Please contact us with any questions or concerns.

Collecting non-personal information & how we use it

When you browse the The Polarity Institute website, you are able to do so anonymously. The Polarity Institute’s website uses cookies. Specifically, the website will set a temporary “session cookie” that lasts the length of your visit to the site, and allows us to collect information on what you view on the site.

However, this information is not in any way identified with you personally. We study usage patterns so we can improve our site’s convenience and ease of use.

Emails we send you may contain hypertext links back to our website. We track click-throughs to these links to help us determine your interest in particular topics and measure the effectiveness of our customer communications.

If at any time your personal information becomes connected to your non-personal information, we will treat all of it as personal information, and protect it acorrdingly.

How we protect your personal information

The Polarity Institute LLC safeguards the security of the data you send us with physical, electronic, and internal management procedures.

No physical copies of paper documents are kept on file with personal information. Our electronic management procedures are encrypted for high levels of security.

Your access to your personal information

You always have access to the contact information we have about you. It’s your data.

If you would like to review any personal information that we may have about you, please contact us.

Our company-wide commitment to privacy

To make sure your personal information remains confidential, we communicate these privacy guidelines to every employee.

The Polarity Institute LLC does not knowingly solicit personal information from children or send them requests for personal information. Further information about the terms and conditions of using the The Polarity Institute website can be found here.

If you have not given us permission to communicate with you, you will not be contacted, nor will we use your personal information in a new manner.

We consider it a priority to be transparent with you and maintain your trust in us as a company. If you have any questions or concerns about this privacy policy or any business practices of The Polarity Institute LLC, please contact us.

Legal Disclaimer

Read on to learn about the terms of use for polarityinstitute.com and the courses offered at polarityinstitute.com:

Guidelines for The Polarity Institute members

Incorporated in these terms of use is the service agreement for members of The Polarity Institute.

Copyright

All of the material on The Polarity Institute is copyrighted. We get frequent emails asking for permission to reprint The Polarity Institute.com’ articles in blogs, newsletters, conferences and classrooms. You can use our content as long as you link to polarityinstitute.com and credit John van der Steur as the author and source of the material. As a courtesy, please send us a copy of the articles or a link to the site where it appears.

Terms of Use, Conditions, and Legal Disclaimer

These terms and conditions govern the participant’s use of this Site and by accessing this Site the participant agrees to be bound by them.

The Polarity Institute reserves the right to change these terms and conditions at any time without notice by updating this posting and the participant’s continued access to or use of this Site will constitute their acceptance of any such changes.

Disclaimer

The statements made about products and services have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration (U.S.). They are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any condition or disease. Please consult with your own physician or health care specialist regarding the suggestions and recommendations made at The Polarity Institute, as well as any other such sites which distribute the content therein.

Except as specifically stated on this site, neither The Polarity Institute nor any of its authors, contributors, or other representatives will be liable for damages arising out of or in connection with the use of this site. This is a comprehensive limitation of liability that applies to all damages of any kind, including (without limitation) compensatory, direct, indirect or consequential damages, loss of data, income or profit, loss of or damage to property and claims of third parties.

This website provides services such as information on compulsive overeating, binge eating, night eating, food addiction, sugar addiction, body image, health, psychology, and human development. As such, use of this service implies your acceptance of the terms described herein.

You, user of services provided by The Polarity Institute, understand that certain services are provided by The Polarity Institute.

You understand that a private citizen without any professional training in the psychological, medical, health, and nutritional field is providing the services. You understand that these services are provided without a health examination and without prior discussion of my health condition. You understand that in no way will The Polarity Institute provide medical advice, and that no medical advice is contained within this site or the services provided.

The information on this website is not intended to be comprehensive or a substitute for professional care. If you think you may have a mental health problem, please see a licensed mental health or medical professional immediately. Only such a professional can diagnose and treat mental health problems.

This website and its agents make no promises, guarantees, representations, or warranties, expressed or implied, and assume no duty or liability with regard to the information contained herein or associated in any way therewith. No legal or other professional services are being rendered and nothing is intended to provide such services.

You understand that these services are not intended as a substitute for consultation with a licensed healthcare practitioner, such as your physician. You understand that these services are not intended as a substitute for professional care from a licensed mental health professional. Before you begin any weight loss or fitness program, or change your nutritional regimen, you will consult your physician or other licensed healthcare practitioner to ensure that you are in good health and that these services will not harm you.

You understand that the information and content of these services should not be used to diagnose a health problem or disease, or to determine any health-related treatment program, including weight loss, diet, or exercise.

You understand that there are risks associated with the use of these services. Use of these services implies that you assume all risks, known and unknown, inherent to exercise, workout programs, nutrition programs, and physical changes and/or injuries which may result from the use of these services.

Risks

Your decision to begin a diet or health related program is yours alone and The Polarity Institute nor any of its authors, contributors, or other representatives will be liable for damages arising out of or in connection with the use of the information provided at this site.

You hereby release The Polarity Institute from any liability related to these services to the fullest extent permitted by law. This includes any damages, costs, or losses of any nature arising from the use of these services and the information provided by these services, including direct, consequential, special, punitive, or incidental damages, even if The Polarity Institute has been advised of the possibility of such damages.

Your use of these services confirms your agreement to the above terms and conditions. If you do not agree, you will not utilize these services.

While we’re offering our opinion and experience, do not substitute our advice for medical advice and prescriptions from your physician or other health care professional. You should not use information from The Polarity Institute to diagnose or treat a medical or psychological condition. The website owner cannot be held responsible for any adverse effects or consequences resulting from the use of any information included in The Polarity Institute. If you have a pre-existing medical or psychological condition or are now taking medication(s), consult your doctor before adopting any changes to your meal plan. You are aware that John van der Steur is not a licensed mental health professional, trained professional counselor, nutritionist, or medical doctor. If you are needing medical help, we encourage you to seek out a medical or mental health professional for help.

By visiting The Polarity Institute, you’re agreeing to all these terms and conditions. Feedback and suggestions are always welcome. Spamming and flaming are not allowed; inappropriate comments will be edited. Thank you for respecting all users on the site.

Submissions

You agree that any and all comments, messages, postings, data, suggestions, creative ideas, designs, concepts, product suggestions and other items or materials disclosed, submitted or offered to The Polarity Institute through or in connection with this Site (“Submissions”), including, but not limited to, survey responses, shall become, and remain, The Polarity Institute’ property. Any correspondence received via e-mail or otherwise becomes the property of The Polarity Institute and may be published at the author’s discretion. By sending me e-mail correspondence, you agree to such terms and conditions. The Polarity Institute is, and shall be, under no obligation (i) to pay to anyone any compensation for or in connection with the use of any Submission; or (ii) to respond to any Submission. You represent and warrant that no Submission by you will violate any right of any third party, including, but not limited to, copyright, trademark, patent, trade secret, privacy or other personal or proprietary right.

The Polarity Institute cannot and does not agree to consider or review every Submission, and is not liable or responsible for the content of any material posted on this Site by users. You agree not to upload, post, distribute or otherwise publish on this Site any material that (i) is libelous, defamatory, obscene, abusive, pornographic, threatening or an invasion of privacy; (ii) infringes the intellectual property rights, including, but not limited to, any copyright, patent, trade secret or trademarks, of any person or entity; (iii) is illegal in any way or advocates illegal activity; or (iv) advertises or solicits funds, goods or services. You are and shall remain solely responsible for the content of any Submission you make.

Downloads

In the event that The Polarity Institute permits items to be downloaded from the site, The Polarity Institute grants the participant a non-exclusive, non assignable and non-transferable license to use and display, for personal, non-commercial, use only, one copy of any material that the participant may download from the site, including, but not limited to any files, codes, audio-visual material or images incorporated in or generated by the software (collectively “Downloaded Material”) provided, however that the participant maintains all copyright and other notices contained in such Downloaded Material. The Polarity Institute grants the participant no further rights or licenses of any kind in respect of any trade marks or names used on this web site, which are the property of The Polarity Institute.

The Participant also agrees not to alter, disassemble, decompile, reverse, engineer or otherwise modify any of the Downloaded Material.

Links

This Site may contain links to other sites. The Polarity Institute is not responsible for the availability of, or any content or material contained in, or obtained through, any such sites. Any link to another site, and reference to third-party information, products or services linked to this Site, is not, and should not be construed as, an express or implied endorsement by The Polarity Institute. Any questions or comments relating to such other sites should be addressed to the operator or operators of those sites.

Accuracy of information

Material in this Site may contain inaccuracies or typographical errors. The Polarity Institute shall not be liable or responsible for any loss or damage caused by or arising from any user’s reliance on information obtained from or through this Site. It is your responsibility to evaluate the information and other content available through this Site. This Site and the information and materials contained in this Site are subject to change at any time, and from time to time, without prior or subsequent notice.

No warranties

This site and the contents of this site are provided on an “as is” and “as available” basis. The Polarity Institute makes no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, including, but not limited to, warranties of title or freedom from malicious programs (such as viruses, worms or Trojan horses) or implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose, with respect to this site or its contents and expressly disclaims any representations and warranties. The Polarity Institute does not represent or warrant that the information contained in this site is accurate, complete or up-to-date, that this site is free of defects or that any defects will be remedied. You agree, by using this site, that your use of this site is at your sole risk, that you assume full responsibility for all loss of use, loss of data and costs associated with all necessary servicing or repairs of any equipment and/or software that you use in connection with this site, and that The Polarity Institute shall not be responsible or liable for any damages of any kind whatsoever arising out of, caused by or related to your use of this site. Where applicable law does not allow the exclusion of implied warranties, some or all of the foregoing disclaimers of warranty may not apply to you.

Limitation of liability

In no event shall The Polarity Institute or John van der Steur be liable for any actual, direct, indirect, special, punitive, incidental, exemplary or consequential damages, or any other damages whatsoever, even if The Polarity Institute has been previously advised of the possibility of such damages, whether in an action under contract, tort or under any other theory, arising out of or in connection with the use, inability to use, or performance of the information, products and materials on this site. Because some jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion or limitation of liability for consequential or incidental damages, some or all of the above limitations may not apply to you.

Indemnity

You agree to defend, indemnify and hold harmless The Polarity Institute and John van der Steur from and against any and all claims, damages, losses, costs and expenses, including, but not limited to, reasonable attorney’s fees and court costs, arising from or related to your use of this Site.

Refund Policy

At The Polarity Institute, we desire to make our group courses as accessible as possible, available to a wide a variety of people from a tapestry of backgrounds and incomes.

We do everything we can to keep our course fees reasonable while also supporting our business and the people who labor on behalf of these offerings.

Likewise, when we come together to form a group for a course, we’re placing tremendous value on the group itself and each person’s commitment to it. We honor the group as an important part of the healing process, and each person in the group matters and contributes to the healing journey.

Our refund policies are created with these desires in mind and reflect both of these concerns.

Our refund policy for group classes

For group courses, we ask for a non-refundable deposit to hold your spot. In the event that a course isn’t for you and you’d like to drop out, please reach out to us by email or call us at XXX-XXX-XXXX within the first 30 days of the course.

We honor all requests for refunds within these 30 days, minus the deposit. After 30 days, we don’t offer refunds. Refunds are processed on the Friday after we receive your request.

Our refund policy for do at home courses

For do at home courses (classes that do not include a small group), there is no deposit. You may ask for and receive a full refund within the first 30 days. Please email us to request a refund or call us at XXX-XXX-XXXX.

Custom Audience Terms for Facebook

Facebook’s custom audience feature enables you to create an audience using your data such as email addresses and phone numbers. When using Facebook’s custom audience feature, your data is locally hashed on your system before you upload and pass such data to Facebook to be used to create your custom audience (the “Hashed Data”). Without limiting any agreement between you and Facebook, by clicking “I accept” and passing to Facebook the Hashed Data, you agree to the following:

You represent and warrant that you (or your data provider) have provided appropriate notice to and secured any necessary consent from the data subjects whose data will be hashed to create the Hashed Data, including as needed to be in compliance with all applicable laws, regulations and industry guidelines. If you have not collected the data directly from the data subject, you confirm, without limiting anything in these terms, that you have all necessary rights and permissions to use the data. If you are using a Facebook identifier to create a custom audience, you must have obtained the identifier directly from the data subject in compliance with these terms.

You confirm that the Hashed Data does not relate to data about any data subject who has exercised an option that you have, directly or indirectly, committed to honoring or provided to opt out of having that data used by you or on your behalf for targeted advertising. To the extent a data subject exercises such an opt-out after you have used data relating to that data subject to create a custom audience, you agree to remove that data subject from the custom audience.

The Hashed Data you provide to us will only be used for the matching process, will not be shared with third parties or other advertisers and will be deleted promptly after the match process is complete. Facebook will maintain the confidentiality and security of the Hashed Data and the collection of Facebook User IDs that comprise your custom audience (“your custom audience”), including by maintaining technical and physical safeguards that are designed to (a) protect the security and integrity of data while it is within Facebook’s systems and (b) guard against the accidental or unauthorized access, use, alteration or disclosure of data within Facebook’s systems. Further, Facebook will not give access to or information about your custom audience to third parties or other advertisers, use your custom audience to append to the information we have about our users or build interest-based profiles, or use your custom audience except to provide services to you, unless we have your permission or are required to do so by law.

Facebook may modify, suspend or terminate access to, or discontinue the availability of, the custom audiences feature at any time. You may discontinue your use of the custom audience feature at any time. You may delete your custom audience from the Facebook system at any time through your account tools.

If you are providing Hashed Data on behalf of a third party, you also represent and warrant that you have the authority as agent to such party to use such data on their behalf and bind such party to these terms.

You may not use the custom audience feature unless you are an advertiser (or an agency acting on behalf of an advertiser), Ads API or Custom Audiences API partner, a data partner that has signed an agreement with us which grants you permission to upload and create a custom audience, or have obtained express, written permission from Facebook. If you are providing Hashed Data on behalf of a third party, you may only use that third party’s own data to create custom audiences on its behalf and may not augment or supplement that data with other data. You may not sell or transfer custom audiences, or authorize any third party to sell or transfer custom audiences.

These Custom Audiences Terms and, to the extent applicable, the Privacy Shield Terms, govern the provision by you of Hashed Data to us and your use of the custom audiences feature. They do not replace any terms applicable to your purchase of advertising inventory from Facebook (including but not limited to the Facebook Advertising Guidelines at https://www.facebook.com/ad_guidelines.php), and such terms will continue to apply to your ad campaigns targeted to your custom audience. The custom audiences feature is part of “Facebook” under Facebook’s Statement of Rights and Responsibilities (https://www.facebook.com/legal/terms, the “SRR”), and your use of the custom audiences feature (including your use of data) is deemed part of your use of, and actions on, “Facebook.” In the event of any express conflict between these Custom Audiences Terms and the SRR, these Custom Audiences Terms will govern solely with respect to your use of the custom audiences feature and solely to the extent of the conflict. Facebook reserves the right to monitor or audit your compliance with these terms and to update these terms from time to time.

Terms