Privacy

Thank you for choosing to be part of our community at HosTalky("Company," "we," "us," or "our"). We are committed to protecting your personal information and your right to privacy. If you have any questions or concerns about this privacy notice or our practices with regard to your personal information, please contact us at privacy@hostalky.com.

The purpose of this privacy notice is to explain to you in the clearest way possible what information we collect, how we use it, and what rights you have in relation to it. If there are any terms in this privacy notice that you do not agree with, please discontinue use of our Services immediately.

Please read this privacy notice carefully, as it will help you understand what we do with the information that we collect.

Personal information you disclose to us

In Short: We collect personal information that you provide to us.

We collect personal information that you voluntarily provide to us when you express an interest in obtaining information about us or our products and services, when you participate in activities on the Hostalky Chat App or otherwise when you contact us.

The personal information that we collect depends on the context of your interactions with us and the HosTalky app, the choices you make and the products and features you use. The personal information we collect may inc>lude the following:

Personal Information Provided by You.

We collect names; phone numbers; email addresses; contact preferences; and other similar information.

All personal information that you provide to us must be true, complete and accurate, and you must notify us of any changes to such personal information.

Information automatically collected

In Short: Some information — such as your Internet Protocol (IP) address and/or browser and device characteristics — is collected automatically when you visit our App.

We automatically collect certain information when you visit, use or navigate the App. This information does not reveal your specific identity (like your name or contact information) but may include device and usage information, such as your IP address, browser and device characteristics, operating system, language preferences, referring URLs, device name, country, location, information about how and when you use our Hostalky Chat App and other technical information. This information is primarily used to maintain the security and operation of our App, and for our internal analytics and reporting purposes.

Like many businesses and organizations, we also collect information through cookies and similar technologies.

The information we collect includes:

• Log and Usage Data. Log and usage data is service-related, diagnostic, usage and performance information our servers automatically collect when you access or use our Hostalky Chat App and which we record in log files. Depending on how you interact with us, this log data may include your IP address, device information, browser type and settings and information about your activity in the Hostalky Chat App (such as the date/time stamps associated with your usage, pages and files viewed, searches and other actions you take such as which features you use), device event information (such as system activity, error reports (sometimes called 'crash dumps') and hardware settings).
• Device Data. We collect device data such as information about your computer, phone, tablet or other device you use to access the App. Depending on the device used, this device data may include information such as your IP address (or proxy server), device and application identification numbers, location, browser type, hardware model Internet service provider and/or mobile carrier, operating system and system configuration information.
• Location Data. We collect location data such as information about your device's location, which can be either precise or imprecise. How much information we collect depends on the type and settings of the device you use to access the App. For example, we may use GPS and other technologies to collect geolocation data that tells us your current location (based on your IP address). You can opt-out of allowing us to collect this information either by refusing access to the information or by disabling your Location setting on your device. Note, however, if you choose to opt-out, you may not be able to use certain aspects of the Services.

In Short We process your information for purposes based on legitimate business interests, the fulfillment of our contract with you, compliance with our legal obligations, and/or your consent.

We use personal information collected via our Hostalky Chat App for a variety of business purposes described below. We process your personal information for these purposes in reliance on our legitimate business interests, in order to enter into or perform a contract with you, with your consent, and/or for compliance with our legal obligations. We indicate the specific processing grounds we rely on next to each purpose listed below.

We use the information we collect or receive:

• To facilitate account creation and logon process. If you choose to link your account with us to a third-party account (such as your Google or Facebook account), we use the information you allowed us to collect from those third parties to facilitate account creation and logon process for the performance of the contract.
• Request feedback. We may use your information to request feedback and to contact you about your use of our App.
• To enable user-to-user communications. We may use your information in order to enable user-to-user communications with each user's consent.
• To manage user accounts. We may use your information for the purposes of managing our account and keeping it in working order.
• To send administrative information to you. We may use your personal information to send you product, service and new feature information and/or information about changes to our terms, conditions, and policies.
• To protect our Services. We may use your information as part of our efforts to keep our Hostalky Chat App safe and secure (for example, for fraud monitoring and prevention).
• To enforce our terms, conditions and policies for business purposes, to comply with legal and regulatory requirements or in connection with our contract.
• To respond to legal requests and prevent harm. If we receive a subpoena or other legal request, we may need to inspect the data we hold to determine how to respond.
• Fulfill and manage your orders. We may use your information to fulfill and manage your orders, payments, returns, and exchanges made through the App.
• Administer prize draws and competitions. We may use your information to administer prize draws and competitions when you elect to participate in our competitions.
• To deliver and facilitate delivery of services to the user. We may use your information to provide you with the requested service.
• To respond to user inquiries/offer support to users. We may use your information to respond to your inquiries and solve any potential issues you might have with the use of our Services.
• To send you marketing and promotional communications. We and/or our third-party marketing partners may use the personal information you send to us for our marketing purposes, if this is in accordance with your marketing preferences. For example, when expressing an interest in obtaining information about us or our App, subscribing to marketing or otherwise contacting us, we will collect personal information from you. You can opt-out of our marketing emails at any time (see the "WHAT ARE YOUR PRIVACY RIGHTS?" below).
• Deliver targeted advertising to you. We may use your information to develop and display personalized content and advertising (and work with third parties who do so) tailored to your interests and/or location and to measure its effectiveness.
• For other business purposes. We may use your information for other business purposes, such as data analysis, identifying usage trends, determining the effectiveness of our promotional campaigns and to evaluate and improve our App, products, marketing and your experience. We may use and store this information in aggregated and anonymized form so that it is not associated with individual end users and does not include personal information. We will not use identifiable personal information without your consent.

In Short: We only share information with your consent, to comply with laws, to provide you with services, to protect your rights, or to fulfill business obligations.

We may process or share your data that we hold based on the following legal basis:

• Consent: We may process your data if you have given us specific consent to use your personal information for a specific purpose.
• Legitimate Interests: We may process your data when it is reasonably necessary to achieve our legitimate business interests.
• Performance of a Contract: Where we have entered into a contract with you, we may process your personal information to fulfill the terms of our contract.
• Legal Obligations: We may disclose your information where we are legally required to do so in order to comply with applicable law, governmental requests, a judicial proceeding, court order, or legal process, such as in response to a court order or a subpoena (including in response to public authorities to meet national security or law enforcement requirements).
• Vital Interests: We may disclose your information where we believe it is necessary to investigate, prevent, or take action regarding potential violations of our policies, suspected fraud, situations involving potential threats to the safety of any person and illegal activities, or as evidence in litigation in which we are involved.

More specifically, we may need to process your data or share your personal information in the following situations:

• Business Transfers. We may share or transfer your information in connection with, or during negotiations of, any merger, sale of company assets, financing, or acquisition of all or a portion of our business to another company.

In Short: We may use cookies and other tracking technologies to collect and store your information.

We may use cookies and similar tracking technologies (like beacons and pixels) to access or store information.

In Short: We keep your information for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes outlined in this privacy notice unless otherwise required by law.

We will only keep your personal information for as long as it is necessary for the purposes set out in this privacy notice, unless a longer retention period is required or permitted by law (such as tax, accounting or other legal requirement). No purpose in this notice will require us to keep your personal information for longer than 2 years.

When we have no ongoing legitimate business need to process your personal information, we will either delete or anonymize such information, or, if this is not possible (for example, because your personal information has been stored in backup archives), then we will securely store your personal information and isolate it from any further processing until deletion is possible.

The information will mainly be stored in your devices. The Hostalky Chat App uses our servers as an exchange system to convey information between you and your co-workers.

In Short: We aim to protect your personal information through a system of organizational and technical security measures.

We have implemented appropriate technical and organizational security measures designed to protect the security of any personal information we process. However, despite our safeguards and efforts to secure your information, no electronic transmission over the Internet or information storage technology can be guaranteed to be 100% secure, so we cannot promise or guarantee that hackers, cybercriminals, or other unauthorized third parties will not be able to defeat our security, and improperly collect, access, steal, or modify your information. Although we will do our best to protect your personal information, the transmission of personal information to and from our Hostalky Chat App is at your own risk. You should only access the Hostalky Chat App within a secure environment.

In Short: We do not knowingly collect data from or market to children under 18 years of age.

We do not knowingly solicit data from or market to children under 18 years of age. By using the App, you represent that you are at least 18 or that you are the parent or guardian of such a minor and consent to such minor dependent’s use of the App. If we learn that personal information from users less than 18 years of age has been collected, we will deactivate the account and take reasonable measures to promptly delete such data from our records. If you become aware of any data we may have collected from children under age 18, please contact us at privacy@hostalky.com

In Short: In some regions, such as the European Economic Area (EEA) and United Kingdom (UK), you have rights that allow you greater access to and control over your personal information. You may review, change, or terminate your account at any time.

In some regions (like the EEA and UK), you have certain rights under applicable data protection laws. These may include the right (i) to request access and obtain a copy of your personal information, (ii) to request rectification or erasure; (iii) to restrict the processing of your personal information; and (iv) if applicable, to data portability. In certain circumstances, you may also have the right to object to the processing of your personal information. To make such a request, please use the contact details provided below. We will consider and act upon any request in accordance with applicable data protection laws.

If we are relying on your consent to process your personal information, you have the right to withdraw your consent at any time. Please note however that this will not affect the lawfulness of the processing before its withdrawal, nor will it affect the processing of your personal information conducted in reliance on lawful processing grounds other than consent.

If you are a resident in the EEA or UK and you believe we are unlawfully processing your personal information, you also have the right to complain to your local data protection supervisory authority. You can find their contact details here: https://ec.europa.eu/justice/data-protection/bodies/authorities/index_en.htm.

If you are a resident in Switzerland, the contact details for the data protection authorities are available here: https://www.edoeb.admin.ch/edoeb/en/home.html.

Most web browsers and some mobile operating systems and mobile applications include a Do-Not-Track ("DNT") feature or setting you can activate to signal your privacy preference not to have data about your online browsing activities monitored and collected. At this stage, no uniform technology standard for recognizing and implementing DNT signals has been finalized. As such, we do not currently respond to DNT browser signals or any other mechanism that automatically communicates your choice not to be tracked online. If a standard for online tracking is adopted that we must follow in the future, we will inform you about that practice in a revised version of this privacy notice.

In Short: Yes, if you are a resident of California, you are granted specific rights regarding access to your personal information.

California Civil Code Section 1798.83, also known as the "Shine The Light" law, permits our users who are California residents to request and obtain from us, once a year and free of charge, information about categories of personal information (if any) we disclosed to third parties for direct marketing purposes and the names and addresses of all third parties with which we shared personal information in the immediately preceding calendar year. If you are a California resident and would like to make such a request, please submit your request in writing to us using the contact information provided below.

If you are under 18 years of age, reside in California, and have a registered account with the App, you have the right to request the removal of unwanted data that you publicly post on the App. To request the removal of such data, please contact us using the contact information provided below, and include the email address associated with your account and a statement that you reside in California. We will make sure the data is not publicly displayed on the App, but please be aware that the data may not be completely or comprehensively removed from all our systems (e.g. backups, etc.).

CCPA Privacy Notice

The California Code of Regulations defines a "resident" as:

All other individuals are defined as "non-residents."

If this definition of "resident" applies to you, we must adhere to certain rights and obligations regarding your personal information.

What categories of personal information do we collect?

We have collected the following categories of personal information in the past twelve (12) months:

Category	Examples	Collect
A. Identifiers	Contact details, such as real name, alias, postal address, telephone or mobile contact number, unique personal identifier, online identifier, Internet Protocol address, email address and account name	NO
B. Personal information categories listed in the California Customer Records statute	Name, contact information, education, employment, employment history and financial information	YES
C. Protected classification characteristics under California or federal law	Gender and date of birth	NO
D. Commercial information	Transaction information, purchase history, financial details and payment information	NO
E. Biometric information	Fingerprints and voiceprints	NO
F. Internet or other similar network activity	Browsing history, search history, online behavior, interest data, and interactions with our and other apps, applications, systems and advertisements	YES
G. Geolocation data	Device location	YES
H. Audio, electronic, visual, thermal, olfactory, or similar information	Images and audio, video or call recordings created in connection with our business activities	NO
I. Professional or employment-related information	Business contact details in order to provide you our services at a business level, job title as well as work history and professional qualifications if you apply for a job with us	NO
J. Education Information	Student records and directory information	NO
K. Inferences drawn from other personal information	Inferences drawn from any of the collected personal information listed above to create a profile or summary about, for example, an individual’s preferences and characteristics	YES

We may also collect other personal information outside of these categories instances where you interact with us in-person, online, or by phone or mail in the context of:

• Receiving help through our customer support channels;
• Participation in customer surveys or contests; and
• Facilitation in the delivery of our Services and to respond to your inquiries.

How do we use and share your personal information?

More information about our data collection and sharing practices can be found in this privacy notice.

You may contact us at privacy@hostalky.com

If you are using an authorized agent to exercise your right to opt-out we may deny a request if the authorized agent does not submit proof that they have been validly authorized to act on your behalf.

Will your information be shared with anyone else?

We may disclose your personal information with our service providers pursuant to a written contract between us and each service provider. Each service provider is a for-profit entity that processes the information on our behalf.

We may use your personal information for our own business purposes, such as for undertaking internal research for technological development and demonstration. This is not considered to be "selling" of your personal data.

Hostalky has not disclosed or sold any personal information to third parties for a business or commercial purpose in the preceding 12 months. Hostalky will not sell personal information in the future belonging to Hostalky Chat App visitors, users and other consumers.

Your rights with respect to your personal data

Right to request deletion of the data - Request to delete

You can ask for the deletion of your personal information by contacting us at privacy@hostalky.com. If you ask us to delete your personal information, we will respect your request and delete your personal information, subject to certain exceptions provided by law, such as (but not limited to) the exercise by another consumer of his or her right to free speech, our compliance requirements resulting from a legal obligation or any processing that may be required to protect against illegal activities.

Right to be informed - Request to know

Depending on the circumstances, you have a right to know:

• whether we collect and use your personal information;
• the categories of personal information that we collect;
• the purposes for which the collected personal information is used;
• whether we sell your personal information to third parties;
• the categories of personal information that we sold or disclosed for a business purpose;
• the categories of third parties to whom the personal information was sold or disclosed for a business purpose; and
• the business or commercial purpose for collecting or selling personal information.

In accordance with applicable law, we are not obligated to provide or delete consumer information that is de-identified in response to a consumer request or to re-identify individual data to verify a consumer request.

Right to Non-Discrimination for the Exercise of a Consumer’s Privacy Rights

We will not discriminate against you if you exercise your privacy rights.

Verification process

Upon receiving your request, we will need to verify your identity to determine you are the same person about whom we have the information in our system. These verification efforts require us to ask you to provide information so that we can match it with the information you have previously provided us. For instance, depending on the type of request you submit, we may ask you to provide certain information so that we can match the information you provide with the information we already have on file, or we may contact you through a communication method (e.g. phone or email) that you have previously provided to us. We may also use other verification methods as the circumstances dictate.

We will only use the personal information provided in your request to verify your identity or authority to make the request. To the extent possible, we will avoid requesting additional information from you for the purposes of verification. If, however, we cannot verify your identity from the information already maintained by us, we may request that you provide additional information for the purposes of verifying your identity, and for security or fraud prevention purposes. We will delete such additionally provided information as soon as we finish verifying you.

Other privacy rights

• you may object to the processing of your personal data
• you may request correction of your personal data if it is incorrect or no longer relevant, or ask to restrict the processing of the data
• you can designate an authorized agent to make a request under the CCPA on your behalf. We may deny a request from an authorized agent that does not submit proof that they have been validly authorized to act on your behalf in accordance with the CCPA.
• you may request to opt-out from future selling of your personal information to third parties. Upon receiving a request to opt-out, we will act upon the request as soon as feasibly possible, but no later than 15 days from the date of the request submission.

To exercise these rights, you can contact us at privacy@hostalky.com If you have a complaint about how we handle your data, we would like to hear from you.

In Short: Yes, we will update this notice as necessary to stay compliant with relevant laws.

We may update this privacy notice from time to time. The updated version will be indicated by an updated "Revised" date and the updated version will be effective as soon as it is accessible. If we make material changes to this privacy notice, we may notify you either by prominently posting a notice of such changes or by directly sending you a notification. We encourage you to review this privacy notice frequently to be informed of how we are protecting your information.

Our site may collect usage data when you are using the site.

Usage data may include information such as the user ip address, operating system and web browser info, pages that you visit, and items that you interact with.

If you have questions or comments about this notice, you may email us at privacy@hostalky.com.

Last Updated: 30 October 2021.

You can download the privacy policy clicking here.

HosTalky values your privacy and is committed to ensuring the security of your personal information. This section of our Privacy Policy outlines how we handle the use of contact lists, images, and files within the HosTalky mobile app.

Contacts Usage:

• Purpose: HosTalky utilizes your device's contact list to enhance your user experience. The app accesses this information to display your contacts within the application and identify which of your contacts are also using HosTalky, enabling seamless communication between users.
• Functionality: By accessing your contact list, HosTalky can provide you with a convenient way to connect with friends, and colleagues who are already using the app. This feature streamlines the process of finding and communicating with contacts within the HosTalky ecosystem.
• Protection: We prioritize the security of your contacts data. Rest assured that your contacts information is only accessed within the confines of the HosTalky app and is not shared with any third parties without your explicit consent.

Image Usage:

• Purpose: In addition to facilitating text-based communication, HosTalky allows users to personalize their profiles and interactions through images. The app utilizes image functionality for various purposes, including uploading profile photos, sending images in chat rooms, and adding group icons.
• Enhanced Communication: Images play a vital role in enriching the communication experience within the app. Whether it's expressing emotions through emojis or sharing visual content in group chats, images contribute to a more engaging and dynamic interaction environment.
• User Control: You have full control over the images you upload and share within HosTalky. You can choose to upload a profile photo that represents you accurately, share images in conversations as you see fit, and set group icons that reflect the theme or identity of your chat groups.
• Privacy Considerations: We understand the sensitivity of image data and are committed to protecting your privacy. Images uploaded or shared within HosTalky are securely stored and transmitted, ensuring that your visual content remains private and accessible only to authorized users.

Files Usage:

• Camera and Microphone Access: Users can choose to use the camera and microphone to take pictures or record videos within the chat feature. These files are stored in the cloud and shared only with the recipients the user selects.
• Media and File Sharing Users can also share media and files from their device's gallery or file storage. These files are stored in the cloud and shared only with the recipients the user selects.
• Purpose: Our chat app enables users to exchange files within the chat interface. This feature allows users to share various types of files, such as images, documents, videos, and more. The primary purpose of accessing files is to facilitate their secure transmission between users during chat interactions.
• User Control: You have complete control over the files you choose to send within the app. The app does not access or read the content of these files unless explicit permission is granted by the user, and the files are specifically selected for sending within the app.
• Privacy Considerations: We acknowledge the importance of privacy and are dedicated to safeguarding your personal data. Files sent or received within our app are treated with the utmost confidentiality. We do not engage in the unauthorized access or use of file content, ensuring that your data remains private and accessible only to the intended recipients.

Data use and Sharing:

• Purpose: The collected data, including files, is used to enhance the user experience within HosTalky. This includes facilitating communication, identifying contacts who are also using the app, and enabling file sharing within chat rooms.
• Data Sharing: HosTalky does not share user data or files with third parties without explicit user consent. Files shared within the app are accessible only to the intended recipients.

Consent and Transparency:

• Consent: Users are informed about the data collection practices and are required to provide consent before their data is collected or accessed.
• Transparency: This Privacy Policy provides transparency on how HosTalky collects, uses, and shares user data, including files.

At HosTalky, we prioritize transparency and user control when handling user data. If you have any questions or concerns regarding the usage of your personal information within the app, please don't hesitate to contact us. Your privacy and satisfaction are our top priorities.