Privacy Policy / General Terms of Use

(Effective May 24, 2018)

  *ADDITIONAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS apply for Members.  These terms can be found here.

Your Privacy and The General Data Protection Regulation

Your data and privacy are very important to us at TheVirtualInstructor.com. We are committed to protecting the privacy of users of the site and the confidential information that you may provide to us.

Who We Are

TheVirtualInstructor.com is a website that features video and written instruction designed to help visitors improve their art skills and/or teach the concepts of art. We are a company based in the United States, owned and operated by artist, Matt Fussell.

Visitors to this website can do so without revealing any personal information.

However, if you purchase a course, Live Lesson series, register on the forum, or become a member, you may be asked to provide additional information such as your first and last name, your email address, your username, and your IP address. This information is securely stored on this website. Additionally, if you join our mailing list or make a comment on the blog or within the members section, this information may be required and is also securely stored.

No financial information or physical addresses are stored on the site.

How We Use Your Data

We use your data in the following ways...

  • To respond to your questions, requests, and comments.
  • To provide technical support when necessary.
  • To inform you of new lessons and content including sales and promotions.
  • To maintain our tax records.
  • To help you manage your account including cancellations, refunds, and password resets.
  • To improve the usability of the site.
  • To prevent fraud or illegal activities.

We do not and will not, under any circumstances, share your email or personal details with anyone else.

Cookie Policy

Cookies are small text files that are used on most websites that allow the website to work properly. They also provide information to the website owner.

Cookies do not store personal information. They help the website remember that you are logged in so that you may navigate from page to page without having to log in again. They may record the amount of time that you spend on a page or what pages you visit. They accomplish this without passing any personal information.

We use cookies to ensure that your experience at TheVirtualInstructor.com is the best that it can be and that the website functions as it should.

You can adjust the settings in your browser to turn off cookies. Doing so may affect the usability of this website and others that you may visit.

Google Analytics

We use a third-party service called Google Analytics. This service provides us with information when you visit TheVirtualInstructor.com. This anonymous information includes the number of visitors to the site, form what location the webpage(s) was viewed, the device that was used to access the page, how long they viewed a page and what pages they visited. This information does not include personal data such as your email address, your name, or your address.

Facebook Pixel

We use a pixel provided by Facebook.com. This pixel provides information to us regarding what pages you visit when visiting our site after you have visited Facebook.com. We may use this information to advertise special offers or promotions to you through Facebook advertising.

Newsletter and Mailing Lists

We use a third-party email service to send you the newsletter as well as links to lessons and special promotions. You will only receive these messages if you have signed up for them and consented to receiving them. The service that we use to provide our emails to you is called MailChimp.com.

MailChimp provides us information regarding the emails that you open and the links that you click on.

You may opt out of receiving emails from us at any time by clicking on the "unsubscribe" link at the bottom of the emails that you receive or by emailing us directly and ask that your name be removed.

Website Security

The security of your data is very important. To protect you, we serve TheVirtualInstructor.com over a secure TLS (Transport Layer Security) connection. This is sometimes commonly referred to as SSL. This is why you'll see a padlock in the url when you visit the site. Using this type of encryption, your data is securely sent when you visit a page, enter an email address or make a payment with any of our payment processors.

For added security, we also use a service called SiteLock.com. This service continually monitors the site for any malicious scripts, bots, or injections that could jeopardize your security. This service provides a "firewall" to keep the "bad guys" out.

Beyond these measures, we also host TheVirtualInstructor.com on its own private server at HostGator.com. This means that the website exists in its own environment that is not shared with any other websites that could cause a breach in our security.

Payment Processors

When you purchase a course, Live Lesson series, or become a member, you make a payment using one of our payment processors. We accept payments through PayPal.com and Stripe.com.

Stripe.com is a popular credit card processor that handles credit and debit card purchases and stores your financial information securely on their website. This information is used to manage your account, including cancellations, refunds, and recurring payments. Stripe.com communicates with TheVirtualInstructor.com behind the scenes to provide you access with content that you have paid for and to restrict content that you haven't paid for.

PayPal.com is a payment processor that handles purchases and stores your financial information securely on their website. This information is used to manage your account, including cancellations, refunds, and recurring payments. Like Stripe.com, PayPal.com communicates with TheVirtualInstructor.com behind the scenes to provide you access with content that you have paid for and to restrict content that you haven't paid for.

Additional Services That We Use

Maintaining and operating a website as large as TheVirtualInstructor.com requires the use of several third-party services. We use these services to provide the content offered here at TheVirtualInstructor.com and to make your experience better. Third-party services are carefully chosen. Here is a list of the services that we use and links to their privacy policies...

Your Rights Under GDPR

You have the right to...

  • Request a copy of your personal data that is stored on TheVirtualInstructor.com. To do so, simply use the contact form.
  • To request that any data stored that may be inaccurate or out of date be changed.
  • To request that any data that is no longer needed be deleted completely from our system. To do so, simply use the contact form.
  • To withdraw your consent to payment processing at anytime. To do so, simply use the contact form or manage your account from the members dashboard.

Contact Details

TheVirtualInstructor.com is owned and operated by artist, Matt Fussell and is located at 113 Suntree Ct., Advance, NC 27006. You may contact us through email at contact@thevirtualinstructor.com or by using the contact form provided on this website.

Data Breaches

If we experience any form of data breach, we will notify you within 72 hours of discovery as well as any relevant authorities if it is clear that personal data in an identifiable manner has been compromised.

Web Site Terms and Conditions of Use

1. Terms

By accessing this web site, you are agreeing to be bound by these web site Terms and Conditions of Use, all applicable laws and regulations, and agree that you are responsible for compliance with any applicable local laws. If you do not agree with any of these terms, you are prohibited from using or accessing this site. The materials contained in this web site are protected by applicable copyright and trade mark law.

2. Use License

  • Permission is granted to temporarily download one copy of the materials (information or software) on thevirtualinstructor.com's web site for personal, non-commercial transitory viewing only. This is the grant of a license, not a transfer of title, and under this license you may not:
    • modify or copy the materials;
    • use the materials for any commercial purpose, or for any public display (commercial or non-commercial);
    • attempt to decompile or reverse engineer any software contained on thevirtualinstructor.com's web site;
    • remove any copyright or other proprietary notations from the materials; or
    • transfer the materials to another person or "mirror" the materials on any other server.
  • This license shall automatically terminate if you violate any of these restrictions and may be terminated by thevirtualinstructor.com at any time. Upon terminating your viewing of these materials or upon the termination of this license, you must destroy any downloaded materials in your possession whether in electronic or printed format.

3. Disclaimer

  • The materials on thevirtualinstructor.com's web site are provided "as is". thevirtualinstructor.com makes no warranties, expressed or implied, and hereby disclaims and negates all other warranties, including without limitation, implied warranties or conditions of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, or non-infringement of intellectual property or other violation of rights. Further, thevirtualinstructor.com does not warrant or make any representations concerning the accuracy, likely results, or reliability of the use of the materials on its Internet web site or otherwise relating to such materials or on any sites linked to this site.

4. Limitations

In no event shall thevirtualinstructor.com or its suppliers be liable for any damages (including, without limitation, damages for loss of data or profit, or due to business interruption,) arising out of the use or inability to use the materials on thevirtualinstructor.com's Internet site, even if thevirtualinstructor.com or a thevirtualinstructor.com authorized representative has been notified orally or in writing of the possibility of such damage. Because some jurisdictions do not allow limitations on implied warranties, or limitations of liability for consequential or incidental damages, these limitations may not apply to you.

5. Revisions and Errata

The materials appearing on thevirtualinstructor.com's web site could include technical, typographical, or photographic errors. thevirtualinstructor.com does not warrant that any of the materials on its web site are accurate, complete, or current. thevirtualinstructor.com may make changes to the materials contained on its web site at any time without notice. thevirtualinstructor.com does not, however, make any commitment to update the materials.

6. Links

thevirtualinstructor.com has not reviewed all of the sites linked to its Internet web site and is not responsible for the contents of any such linked site. The inclusion of any link does not imply endorsement by thevirtualinstructor.com of the site. Use of any such linked web site is at the user's own risk.

7. Site Terms of Use Modifications

thevirtualinstructor.com may revise these terms of use for its web site at any time without notice. By using this web site you are agreeing to be bound by the then current version of these Terms and Conditions of Use.

8. Governing Law

Any claim relating to thevirtualinstructor.com's web site shall be governed by the laws of the State of North Carolina without regard to its conflict of law provisions.

Additional Privacy and Advertising

Your privacy is very important to us. Accordingly, we have developed this Policy in order for you to understand how we collect, use, communicate and disclose and make use of personal information. The following outlines our privacy policy.

  • Before or at the time of collecting personal information, we will identify the purposes for which information is being collected.
  • We will collect and use of personal information solely with the objective of fulfilling those purposes specified by us and for other compatible purposes, unless we obtain the consent of the individual concerned or as required by law.
  • We will only retain personal information as long as necessary for the fulfillment of those purposes.
  • We will collect personal information by lawful and fair means and, where appropriate, with the knowledge or consent of the individual concerned.
  • Personal data should be relevant to the purposes for which it is to be used, and, to the extent necessary for those purposes, should be accurate, complete, and up-to-date.
  • We will protect personal information by reasonable security safeguards against loss or theft, as well as unauthorized access, disclosure, copying, use or modification.
  • We will make readily available to customers information about our policies and practices relating to the management of personal information.
  • Third party vendors, including Google, use cookies to serve ads based on a user's prior visits to this website.
  • Google's use of the DART cookie enables it and its partners to serve ads to users based on their visit to this site and/or other sites on the Internet.
  • Users may opt out of the use of the DART cookie by visiting the advertising opt-out page.
  • Amazon.com is included as a third party vendor that serves ads that appear on this site. A link to their Privacy Policy and how it applies to visitors to this site can be found here. I receive a commission on products sold through this website.  To opt out of this type of advertising visit this site, networkadvertising.org
  • Creative Catalyst Productions is included as a third party vendor that serves ads that appear on this site. 

We are committed to conducting our business in accordance with these principles in order to ensure that the confidentiality of personal information is protected and maintained.