Privacy Policy

Ascend is a product of OptivationAI, operating in Nelson, New Zealand. References to "we", "us", or "our" in this policy refer to OptivationAI. Our primary contact email for privacy matters is privacy [at] optivationai.com.

We operate on a strict minimum necessary principle. We collect only what is required to provide the Ascend service and nothing more.

Account information: Your name, email address, and password when you create an account.

Workspace content: The data you deliberately enter into Ascend — databases, task records, project notes, time entries, client details, and invoices. This data belongs to you.

Usage metadata: Basic, anonymised usage signals (e.g., feature interactions) used solely to improve platform reliability and identify issues. This data is never linked back to identifiable individuals in our analytics systems.

Payment information: Billing details for paid subscriptions are processed by our payment processor (Stripe) and are never stored on Ascend servers. OptivationAI does not have access to your raw card numbers.

The information we hold is used exclusively for the following purposes:

• Providing, operating, and improving the Ascend platform
• Responding to support requests and account queries
• Sending transactional communications (invoices, account notices, security alerts)
• Fraud prevention and platform security
• Complying with our legal obligations under New Zealand law

We do not use your data for:

• Targeted or behavioural advertising
• Sale or commercial transfer to third parties
• Training AI or machine learning models (see Section 5)
• Building demographic or interest profiles for any external purpose

All data in transit between your browser and our servers is encrypted using TLS 1.2 or higher. All data at rest — including database contents, file attachments, and backups — is encrypted using AES-256, which is aligned with current industry best practice.

Access to production databases is restricted to a small number of authorized engineers operating under strict access controls, logging, and review processes. We do not permit broad, unmonitored access to customer data.

Our infrastructure providers maintain SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001, and applicable regional compliance certifications. We evaluate and document the privacy posture of all sub-processors before engaging them.

Ascend includes AI-powered features (referred to as the AI Advisor). When you interact with these features, the relevant content from your workspace is sent to enterprise-grade AI API providers to generate a response.

We exclusively use AI providers that provide zero data-retention agreements for API usage — meaning your workspace content is processed in memory to generate a response and is not stored, logged, or used for training by those providers.

We share your data with trusted third parties only where necessary to operate the platform. Each sub-processor is listed below with its purpose:

We do not share your data with any other third parties. We do not engage in data brokering, affiliate data sharing, or advertising network partnerships.

Under the New Zealand Privacy Act 2020, you have legally protected rights in relation to your personal information held by OptivationAI. If you are based in the EU or EEA, the equivalent rights are provided under the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). We uphold these rights for all users regardless of location.

• Right of access (NZ & GDPR Art. 15): You can request a copy of all personal data we hold about you.
• Right of correction (NZ & GDPR Art. 16): You can request that inaccurate personal data be corrected.
• Right of deletion (NZ & GDPR Art. 17): You can request full deletion of your account and all associated data.
• Right to export / data portability (NZ & GDPR Art. 20): You can export your entire workspace data at any time from your account settings without requiring our involvement.
• Right to object / restrict processing (GDPR Art. 18–21): EU/EEA users may object to or restrict certain processing of their data.
• Right to complain: You may complain to the New Zealand Office of the Privacy Commissioner at privacy.org.nz, or if you are in the EU, to your local Data Protection Authority.

We retain your personal data for as long as your account remains active. If you delete your account:

• Your workspace data is deleted from live databases within 7 days of the deletion request.
• Encrypted backups containing your data are purged within 90 days.
• Billing records may be retained for up to 7 years as required by New Zealand tax law. These records are maintained separately and contain only the minimum data required for compliance.

Ascend uses a small number of cookies strictly necessary to operate the platform (e.g., authentication session tokens). We do not use third-party advertising cookies, tracking pixels, or session-replay tools that transmit activity to external services.

If you browse our marketing website (ascend.optivationai.com), basic, privacy-respecting analytics may be used to understand page traffic in aggregate. We do not use Google Analytics. Any analytics we use are configured to anonymise IP addresses and do not track individuals across sessions or across sites.

Ascend is a professional business management platform. It is not directed at children under the age of 16, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 16. If you believe a minor has provided us with personal information, please contact us and we will delete it promptly.

We may update this policy from time to time to reflect changes in the law, our practices, or the features we offer. When we make material changes, we will notify you directly via email and display a notice within the Ascend platform. The "last updated" date at the top of this page reflects the most recent revision.

Continued use of Ascend after a policy change constitutes acceptance of the updated terms. If you do not agree with any change, you may terminate your account and export your data before the change takes effect.

For any privacy-related question, data request, or concern, please contact our Privacy Officer: