Privacy Policy

Privacy Policy

Effective as of July 20, 2020

We have created this Privacy Policy because we know that you care about how information you provide to us is collected, used, and shared. This Privacy Policy explains DatChat’s information collection and use practices when you access and/or use our Service. By visiting our Website, downloading our Application(s), and/or otherwise accessing and/or using our Service, you are agreeing to the terms of this Privacy Policy and the accompanying Terms of Service, which incorporate this Privacy Policy and our Acceptable Use Policy by reference.

Capitalized terms not defined in this Privacy Policy shall have the meanings set forth in our Terms of Service. This Privacy Policy applies to information we collect through any version of the Service and to information you send to us. It does not apply to information collected by any third party, including through any application, content, link or other interaction that may be accessible to you through the Service.

What Information We Collect; the Purpose of Collection and Use

We collect the categories of information described below. Most of the data collection and uses described in this Privacy Policy are required in order for you to be able to use the Service. If you do not agree, you may not use the Service. Some of the data collection and uses are not strictly necessary for us to provide the Service, but they are related, and our basis for such collection and processing is for legitimate interests we may have, such as to analyze and improve the Service. You may object to such processing as more fully described below, and we will address your objection promptly. Finally, some of the data collection and uses are optional, and our basis for such collection and use is your consent. Where that is the case, we always give you a choice, and you may use the Service even if you have not provided consent to the particular use.

Contact Information

When you sign up to become a user of the Service, you will be required to provide us with personal information about yourself, which may include your name, email address and phone number (collectively, “Contact Information”). The Contact Information is used to provide the requested Service and for the additional purposes described below under “Additional Uses.”

Address Book Information

When you access and use the Service, you may elect to share the data stored in the address book on the Device from which you are accessing and using the Service (the “Address Book Data”). If you do so, we will temporarily process the Address Book Data in hashed/anonymized form (i.e., in a manner in which we cannot read the data) and will use it only to provide you the Service and to help you connect with people on DatChat that you have listed in your address book via their email address and/or phone number.

Message Information

When you use the Service to send and/or receive encrypted Messages, we may temporarily process and store your Message (in encrypted form), log and contact data, and other related information (collectively, the “Message Information”) in order to provide the Service to you. We do not (and cannot) read your encrypted Messages, and we delete your Messages as soon as they have been successfully self-destructed or deleted

Billing Information

If you wish to purchase a subscription for any premium features we may offer from time to time, you will be directed to the appropriate app store, which has or may require you to provide certain payment and billing information (collectively, “Billing Information”). We do not obtain, process, retain or have access to any Billing Information.

Automatic Data Collection Technologies

Like most organizations, we rely on automatic data collection technology when you use our Service. These technologies may collect information on our behalf such as your IP address, operating system and language. They may also collect information about your Device, including Device model and manufacturer, universally unique ID and/or mobile advertiser ID, screen size and resolution, carrier and network status, country and time zone, storage and processor information. This information is collected automatically and anonymized. Please be advised that if you opt out of any service, you may not be able to use the full functionality of the Service.

Cookies

We use cookies to remember your language and other preferences on the Website, to enable you to navigate around and use the Website, and to help us compile analytical data that we use to improve the Service. To learn more about what cookies are, what types we use, what we use them for and how to control them, please visit our Cookie Policy.

Aggregate Data

In an ongoing effort to better understand our users and the Service, we might analyze your information in aggregate form to operate, maintain, manage, and improve the Website, the App and the Service. This aggregate information does not identify you personally. We may share this aggregate data with our affiliates, agents, and business partners. We may also disclose aggregated user statistics in order to describe our products and the Website to current and prospective business partners and to other third parties for other lawful purposes.

Additional Uses

We also use Contact Information, and other information collected pursuant to this Privacy Policy to respond to general inquiries, solicit feedback about our products/services and those of any third parties, provide customer support, and to communicate with you regarding our current and future products.

Onward Transfer to Third Parties

Like many businesses, we hire other companies to perform certain business-related services. We may disclose personal information to certain types of third-party companies, but only to the extent needed to enable them to provide such services. The types of companies that may receive personal information and their functions are: marketing assistance, analytics and reporting, customer support, email and SMS delivery, cloud infrastructure, and systems monitoring. All such third parties function as our agents, performing services at our instruction and on our behalf pursuant to contracts which require they provide at least the same level of privacy protection as is required by this Privacy Policy and implemented by DatChat, including: specifying the subject matter, duration, nature and purpose of processing personal information obtained from us; implementing and maintaining adequate technical and organizational security measures to protect personal information; ensuring that personnel authorized to access personal information are bound by appropriate confidentiality obligations; agreeing to cooperate with us in complying with requests by our users to exercise their rights under applicable data protection laws; assisting us in connection with applicable data breach notification or other applicable requirements relating to data protection; returning or deleting personal data at the conclusion of their service; and agreeing to demonstrate their compliance with applicable data protection laws.

You may opt out of having your personal information transferred to any or all of our categories of agents by contacting us at privacy@DatChat.com. Please allow us a reasonable time to process your request. If you opt out of having your personal information transferred to certain categories of agents, such as those whose services are necessary for us to operate and deliver the Service to you, we will have to delete your account in order to comply with your request, and you will not be able to continue to use the Service. Under applicable data protection law, we remain liable if our agent processes such personal information in a manner inconsistent with our obligations under such law, unless we prove that we are not responsible for the event giving rise to the damage.

Opt-In to Certain Onward Transfers

We do not currently transfer your personal information to a third-party that is not acting on our behalf, and we will not do so without your opt-in consent.

We do not currently collect sensitive personal information from you and we will not do so or disclose your sensitive personal information to any third party without first obtaining your opt-in consent.

Business Transfers

In the event of a merger, dissolution or similar corporate event, or the sale of all or substantially all of our assets, we expect that the information that we have collected, including personal information, would be transferred to the surviving entity in a merger or the acquiring entity. All such transfers shall be subject to our commitments with respect to the privacy and confidentiality of such personal information as set forth in this Privacy Policy.

Disclosure to Public Authorities

We may be required to disclose personal information in response to lawful requests by public authorities, including for the purpose of meeting national security or law enforcement requirements. We may also disclose personal information to other third parties when compelled to do so by government authorities or required by law or regulation including, but not limited to, in response to court orders and subpoenas.

Unsubscribing from Emails

You may unsubscribe from marketing and non-transactional communications by clicking on the “unsubscribe” link located on the bottom of any DatChat marketing email. We will use commercially reasonable efforts to process such requests in a timely manner. Users cannot opt out of receiving transactional emails related to their account.

Retention of Personal Information

We will retain your personal information in a form that identifies you only for as long as it serves the purpose(s) for which it was initially collected as stated in this Privacy Policy, or subsequently authorized. We may continue processing your personal information for longer periods, but only for the time and to the extent such processing reasonably serves the purposes of statistical analysis, and subject to the protection of this Privacy Policy. After such time periods have expired, we may either delete your personal information or retain it in a form such that it does not identify you personally.

How We Protect Your Information

We take commercially reasonable and appropriate measures to protect the personal information from accidental loss, misuse, and unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, or destruction, taking into account the risks involved in processing and the nature of such data, and comply with applicable laws and regulations. Please understand, however, that no security system is impenetrable. We cannot guarantee the security of our databases, nor can we guarantee that the information you supply will not be intercepted while being transmitted to and from us over the Internet. In particular, email sent to or from the Website and/or the Application may not be secure, and you should therefore take special care in deciding what information you send to us via email.

Children

We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under the age of 13 through the Service. If you are under 13, please do not give us any personal information. If you are 13 or older, but under the age of majority in your jurisdiction, you should review this Privacy Policy with your parent or guardian to make sure that you and your parent or guardian understand it. If you have reason to believe that a child under the age of 13 has provided personal information to us, please contact us, and we will endeavor to delete that information from our databases.

Important Notice to Non-U.S. Residents

Our servers are located in the U.S. If you are located outside of the U.S., please be aware that any information provided to us, including personal information, will be transferred from your country of origin to the U.S. Except in the case of data transfers under the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield Framework and the Swiss-U.S. Privacy Shield Framework, your decision to provide such data to us, or allow us to collect such data through our Website, the App or the Service, constitutes your consent to this data transfer.

Important Notice for Residents of the European Economic Area and Switzerland

DatChat complies with the EU-U.S. and Swiss-U.S. Privacy Shield Frameworks as designed by the U.S. Department of Commerce, the European Commission and the Swiss Administration. The Privacy Shield Frameworks govern the collection, use, and retention of personal information transferred from the European Union member countries (including Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway) and Switzerland to the United States, respectively. DatChat has certified to the U.S. Department of Commerce that it adheres to the Privacy Shield principles of Notice, Choice, Accountability for Onward Transfer, Security, Data Integrity and Purpose Limitation, Access, Recourse, Enforcement and Liability (the “Privacy Shield Principles”). If there is a conflict between this Privacy Policy and the Privacy Shield Principles, the Privacy Shield Principles shall govern. To learn more about the Privacy Shield program, and to view our certification page, please visit https://www.privacyshield.gov/.

With respect to personal information received or transferred under the Privacy Shield Frameworks, DatChat is subject to the investigatory and enforcement powers of the Federal Trade Commission.

In compliance with the Privacy Shield Principles, DatChat commits to resolve complaints about your privacy and our collection or use of your personal information. Individuals with inquiries or complaints regarding this Privacy Policy should first contact DatChat at privacy@DatChat.com. DatChat has further committed to refer unresolved privacy complaints under the Privacy Shield Principles to BBB EU PRIVACY SHIELD, a non-profit alternative dispute resolution provider located in the U.S. and operated by the Council of Better Business Bureaus. If you do not receive timely acknowledgment of your complaint, or if your complaint is not satisfactorily addressed by DatChat, please visit www.bbb.org/EU-privacy-shield/for-eu-consumers/ for more information and to file a complaint. If these processes do not result in a resolution, you may also contact your local data protection authority, the U.S. Department of Commerce, and/or the Federal Trade Commission for assistance. Please note that if your complaint is not resolved through these channels, under limited circumstances, a binding arbitration option may be available before a Privacy Shield Panel.

Access to Personal Information; Other Rights

You may have additional rights under applicable data protection laws, including the EU General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”). For example, you may have the right to lodge a complaint with the data protection supervisory authority in your country. You may also have the right to request access to and rectification or erasure of your personal information or restriction of processing of your personal information, or to object to processing, as well as the right to data portability. We respect the privacy rights of all of our users. Upon request to privacy@DatChat.com, we will provide you with confirmation as to whether we are processing your personal information, and have the data communicated to you within a reasonable time. You have the right to correct, amend or delete your personal information where it is inaccurate or has been processed in violation of this Privacy Policy. Please allow us a reasonable time to respond to your inquiries and requests. We are committed to complying with data protection laws to the extent they apply to us, and to assist our users in exercising their rights under applicable law.

California Privacy Rights

Pursuant to Section 1798.83 of the California Civil Code, residents of California have the right to obtain certain information about the types of personal information that companies with whom they have an established business relationship (and that are not otherwise exempt) have shared with third parties for direct marketing purposes during the preceding calendar year, including the names and addresses of those third parties, and examples of the types of services or products marketed by those third parties. If you wish to submit a request pursuant to Section 1798.83, please contact DatChat via email at privacy@DatChat.com.

External Websites

As described in the Terms of Service, the Service may contain links to third-party websites. DatChat has no control over the privacy practices or the content of any of these websites. As such, we are not responsible for their content or privacy policies. You should check the applicable third-party privacy policy and terms of use when visiting any other websites, and before providing any personal information to such external sites.

Changes to This Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy is effective as of the date stated at the top of this Privacy Policy. We may change this Privacy Policy from time to time and will post any changes on the Website as soon as they go into effect. By visiting the Website, downloading or updating the Applications, and/or otherwise accessing and/or using the Service after we make any such changes to this Privacy Policy, you are deemed to have accepted such changes. Please refer back to this Privacy Policy on a regular basis.

How to Contact Us

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy, please email us at privacy@DatChat.com.