Privacy Policy

Last updated: September 11, 2026

Ritch Design Studio, operated by Ritchie Linao (“I,” “me,” “my,” or “Ritch Design Studio”), respects your privacy and is committed to protecting the personal information you provide when visiting https://www.ritchielinao.com/.

This Privacy Policy explains what information may be collected through this website, why it is collected, how it may be used, and the rights available to you.

1. Information I Collect

Information You Provide

When you use the contact form, you may be asked to provide:

First name
Last name
Email address
Phone number
Subject of your inquiry
Message and project information
Any other information you voluntarily include in your message

Please avoid submitting sensitive personal information through the contact form unless it is necessary for your inquiry.

Information Collected Automatically

When you visit this website, certain technical information may be collected automatically by the website, hosting provider, analytics service, or security services. This may include:

Internet Protocol (IP) address
Browser and device type
Operating system
Approximate geographic location
Referring website
Pages visited
Date, time, and duration of visits
Website interaction and diagnostic information
Security and anti-spam signals

This information is generally used to operate, secure, maintain, and improve the website.

2. How Your Information Is Used

Your personal information may be used to:

Respond to inquiries and quotation requests
Communicate with you about a proposed or existing project
Prepare proposals, estimates, agreements, or invoices
Provide website design, development, graphic design, photography, and related services
Maintain records of business communications
Protect the website and its forms from spam, fraud, bots, and malicious activity
Understand how visitors use the website
Improve the website’s content, performance, and user experience
Comply with legal, regulatory, accounting, or contractual obligations
Establish, exercise, or defend legal claims when necessary

Information submitted through the contact form will not be used to send unrelated marketing messages unless you have separately agreed to receive them.

3. Legal Basis for Processing

Depending on the circumstances, personal information may be processed based on:

Your consent when you voluntarily submit an inquiry
Steps necessary to respond to a request before entering into a contract
The performance of a contract with you
Legitimate interests in operating, securing, and improving the website and business
Compliance with applicable legal obligations

Personal information will only be collected and processed for legitimate and appropriate purposes.

4. Contact Forms

This website uses Contact Form 7 to receive inquiries.

When you submit a form, the information you provide is transmitted to Ritch Design Studio and may also be processed through the website’s hosting and email systems. The information may be retained in email records, backups, security logs, or the WordPress database, depending on the website’s configuration.

Your information will be used primarily to respond to your inquiry and communicate with you regarding the services you requested.

Submitting the contact form does not automatically create a client relationship or contractual agreement.

5. Cloudflare Turnstile Privacy Addendum

This website uses Cloudflare Turnstile, provided by Cloudflare, Inc., to protect contact forms and other website functions from spam, bots, abuse, and malicious activity.

Turnstile may operate in invisible mode. This means that its security challenge can run in the background without displaying a visible checkbox or challenge to most visitors.

To distinguish legitimate visitors from automated traffic, Cloudflare may process limited technical signals, including:

IP address
User-Agent header
Browser and device characteristics
TLS fingerprint
The website’s Turnstile site key
The website or domain from which the request originated
Security and interaction signals necessary to detect automated activity

Cloudflare states that Turnstile processes these signals to protect websites from malicious activity and improve its bot-detection capabilities. Turnstile does not access, store, or transmit the information you type into the website’s contact form.

Cloudflare may process information in countries outside the Philippines. Its processing is governed by Cloudflare’s privacy terms and applicable data-protection safeguards.

For more information, please read:

By using a form protected by Turnstile, the necessary security processing described above may take place.

6. Spam Protection and Akismet

This website may use Akismet, a service provided by Automattic, to identify and prevent spam submitted through forms.

When enabled, Akismet may process information such as:

Information entered into the form
IP address
User-Agent information
Referring URL
Website URL
Submission date and time
Other information needed to identify spam

This information is processed for website security and spam prevention. Akismet states that most spam-related data is retained for a limited period.

You may review how Akismet processes information through the Automattic Privacy Notice.

7. Google Analytics

This website uses Google Analytics 4, provided by Google LLC, to understand how visitors use the website.

Google Analytics may collect information such as:

Pages viewed
Approximate location
Browser and device information
Session activity
Referring website
Date, time, and duration of visits
Website interactions and performance information

This information is used to produce aggregated statistics, evaluate website performance, understand visitor behavior, and improve the website. It is not intended to be used by Ritch Design Studio to identify visitors personally.

Google may process analytics information on servers located outside the Philippines. Its handling of that information is governed by Google’s privacy terms.

You can learn more through:

Where required by applicable law, non-essential analytics cookies should only be activated after receiving the visitor’s consent.

8. Cookies and Similar Technologies

This website and its service providers may use cookies, local storage, security tokens, and similar technologies.

These technologies may be used for:

Essential website functionality
Website and form security
Bot and spam prevention
Remembering visitor preferences
Measuring website traffic and performance
Understanding how visitors interact with the website

Essential security technologies may be necessary for the website to operate safely. Analytics cookies are not strictly necessary and may be controlled through a cookie-consent tool, your browser settings, or Google’s opt-out tools.

Blocking essential cookies or scripts may prevent contact forms, Turnstile, or other website functions from working properly.

9. Server Logs

The website’s hosting provider may automatically create server logs when the website is accessed. These logs may include IP addresses, browser details, requested pages, referring URLs, timestamps, and error information.

Server logs are used to maintain website availability, troubleshoot technical problems, detect suspicious activity, and protect the website against unauthorized access or attacks.

10. Sharing of Information

Personal information may be shared only when reasonably necessary with:

Website hosting and domain service providers
Email service providers
Cloudflare for security and bot detection
Google for website analytics
Automattic or Akismet for spam prevention
WordPress-related service providers
Professional advisers when necessary
Government authorities or regulators when required by law

Personal information is not sold or rented to third parties.

Service providers may process information only to provide their respective services, comply with legal obligations, maintain security, or perform other purposes described in their privacy policies.

11. International Data Transfers

Some service providers used by this website may process or store information outside the Philippines.

When personal information is transferred internationally, reasonable efforts will be made to use providers that maintain appropriate privacy, contractual, and security safeguards.

12. Data Retention

Personal information will be retained only for as long as reasonably necessary to:

Respond to your inquiry
Communicate about a proposed or existing project
Provide requested services
Maintain legitimate business, contractual, and financial records
Resolve disputes
Prevent fraud or abuse
Comply with legal obligations

Different retention periods may apply depending on the type of information and the purpose for which it was collected.

When information is no longer reasonably required, it may be deleted, anonymized, or securely archived, subject to legal and technical limitations relating to backups and recordkeeping.

13. Data Security

Reasonable organizational and technical measures are used to protect personal information against:

Unauthorized access
Accidental loss
Improper disclosure
Alteration
Misuse
Destruction

These measures may include HTTPS encryption, access controls, security monitoring, software updates, backups, anti-spam protection, and bot-detection services.

However, no website, email system, or method of internet transmission can be guaranteed to be completely secure.

14. Your Privacy Rights

Subject to the Philippine Data Privacy Act of 2012 and other applicable laws, you may have the right to:

Be informed about the processing of your personal information
Request access to your personal information
Object to certain types of processing
Request the correction of inaccurate or incomplete information
Request erasure or blocking when legally appropriate
Request data portability when applicable
Withdraw consent when processing is based on consent
File a complaint with the National Privacy Commission
Seek compensation for damages caused by a violation of your data-privacy rights

Before fulfilling a request, reasonable information may be required to verify your identity and protect your information from unauthorized disclosure.

Some requests may be limited when retaining or processing the information is required by law, necessary for contractual obligations, or needed to establish, exercise, or defend legal claims.

15. Children’s Privacy

This website and its services are not specifically directed toward children under 18 years of age.

Children should not submit personal information through the website without the consent and supervision of a parent or legal guardian. If personal information from a child is discovered to have been collected without appropriate authorization, it may be deleted upon a verified request from a parent or guardian.

16. External Websites and Social Media

This website contains links to external websites and social-media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and X.

When you follow an external link, the destination website may collect information according to its own privacy policy. Ritch Design Studio is not responsible for the privacy practices, security, availability, or content of third-party websites.

You should review the privacy policy of any external website you visit.

17. Changes to This Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy may be updated when the website’s features, service providers, data-processing activities, or legal obligations change.

The latest version will be published on this page with a revised “Last updated” date. Material changes may also be communicated through an appropriate notice on the website.

18. Contact Information

For questions, concerns, or requests involving your personal information, please contact:

Owner: Ritchie F. Linao
Pardo Poblacion
Cebu City, Philippines 6000
Contact Number: +63 995 007 2880

You may also submit a privacy request through the contact form on this website.

If you believe your data-privacy rights have been violated, you may contact or file a complaint with the National Privacy Commission of the Philippines through its official website at https://privacy.gov.ph/.