Akwaaba App’s Privacy Policy for Consumer Services explains how Akwaaba App collects, uses and shares your personal data. This Privacy Policy applies globally to all applications, websites, and other online services offered by Akwaaba App and our affiliates (collectively “Consumer Services”).
“Location Data” is a type of personal data that, when collected and used responsibly, can help you navigate and interact with the physical and digital worlds around you. Location data is collected using various technologies such as the location services of your operating system or browser, sensor data from your device, and other data that may help us understand your precise location. Ever type in a business name into Uber, or tag your location in a photo before sharing on Twitter? Or, have you ever received a notification for a coupon when you’re passing by your favorite fast food joint? Akwaaba App powers these features as well as others that help people navigate, explore, and enjoy the world around them.
Most importantly, location data should only be collected when you say it is okay to do so, and you should be able to change your mind at any time. The collection of location data should also benefit you, the user. That’s why we only allow partners to use our location technology if they can demonstrate that the use of our technology is necessary to offer benefits or provide value to consumers who opt-in to sharing their location data.
You can control the collection of location data at any time through your device settings. While the exact settings may differ depending on your device, typically, you will be given options that range from never sharing, to being asked to share each time you open an app, to only sharing while using an app, to always sharing. When location data settings are set to “always” (i.e., persistent background location is turned “on”), your device’s location data will be shared with us even if you are not actively using our apps or other Consumer Services.
Akwaaba App is also a participating member of the Network Advertising Initiative’s Precise Location Solution Provider Enhanced Standards which, among other things, requires that participating members not use, allow the use of, sell, or share any information about device or user activity correlated to a known Sensitive Points of Interest, including:
Akwaaba App participates in the following organizations and programs:
The nature of the data collected often depends on the Consumer Services you are using; however, there are three main types of personal data we collect:
We collect data when you create an account for our Consumer Services, when you consent or opt-in to providing data (e.g., geolocation data or device identifiers for advertising or contact information from people in your contact list to enable you to find friends when using our apps) via our mobile apps or websites, when you upload content using Consumer Services, or when you contact us for customer support.
We automatically collect data about how you interact with our Consumer Services, such as when you choose to share your location, use our apps, or visit our websites (through cookies, pixels, and similar technologies). This data helps us better understand your use, interactions, and experiences with our Consumer Services.
We also receive data from third parties. Our third party data sources may vary over time but can include:
We also combine and bundle data collected from these different sources, as well as from Akwaaba App affiliates, and create inferences to deliver, maintain, and personalize our Consumer Services and operate our business.
You can learn more about Akwaaba App’s data collection, including categories, examples, and sources, in the chart below.
Data that does not contain any personal data that can be used to identify you or has otherwise been de-identified or aggregated is not considered personal data. To the extent we process deidentified data, we will maintain and use the data in deidentified form and will not attempt to reidentify the data unless permitted by applicable law.
When we collect data, we rely on several legal bases; these include:
We use your personal data for the following purposes:
We use your data to operate, support, and improve the Consumer Services you request, purchase, or engage with. This includes maintaining or servicing your accounts (including repairing errors that impair existing or intended functionality), providing customer service, processing transactions and payments, and verifying customer information.
We use data to personalize your experience with our Consumer Services. These features often use automated processes to tailor Consumer Services based on the data we have about you or inferences based on your interests, location and whether separate devices (e.g., mobile phones, tablets, and/or TVs) are owned by you or by members of your household. You may also choose to provide us with access to your contact list so that we can help you find your friends when using our apps (information from your contact list is not stored, shared, or sold).
Innovation is at the core of what we do. We conduct data analytics and use automated processing, artificial intelligence, and machine learning to support internal research, create new products and services, improve the functionality of existing products and services, and develop new features such as those developed to enhance security and protect privacy.
We use your data, along with inferences that we derive from your data, to offer products and services to developers, our partners, and to our enterprise and other customers.
We use data to detect security threats (e.g., malware or other malicious activities), troubleshoot performance issues, and to protect the security and safety of our products, systems, and customers. Our security measures may include the use of automated systems.
We use data to prevent fraud, identity theft, activities that violate our policies, terms of service, or the law, or to prevent other criminal activity that compromises our ability to protect our rights and property, secure our services, your data or the safety of our customers, employees, and others.
We process data to comply with applicable laws, regulations, court orders, or legally-binding requests from law enforcement, and relevant industry standards. For example, we must process your contact information to help you exercise your privacy rights. We also process data to conduct appropriate due diligence for compliance purposes.
We may disclose the categories of personal data we process about you (as described above) with third parties. We will only disclose your personal data as follows and, when applicable, only with the appropriate and equivalent protections (i.e., technical, organizational, and contractual) in place:
We disclose your personal data with your consent or as necessary to complete any transaction or provide any product you have requested or authorized. For example, we disclose data to third parties when you instruct us to do so, such as when you authorize friends to see your data or make your data publicly available (e.g., profile photo, users you are following, or other information you post), when you communicate via our Consumer Services with your friends, or when you check-in to a store, restaurant or other point of interest. You can always control what you want visible to others, including your friends, in your “Settings.”
We disclose data to other Akwaaba App affiliates for the purposes outlined in this Privacy Policy.
We disclose your data to service providers that perform services on our behalf, such as cloud storage, IT services, marketing, analytics, and search engine and other software services. These service providers may be located in countries other than the country where the information originally was collected, such as the US and Canada. We do not authorize our service providers to retain, use, or disclose the data except as necessary to perform services on our behalf or comply with legal requirements.
We share data with Enterprise Customers for their own purposes. For example, Enterprise Customers may use “Visits” combined with data that they collect to understand movement patterns to determine where to open a physical store, to conduct research and development, to perform analytics, to serve targeted ads, and to determine whether an online or offline advertisement (including on unaffiliated apps, websites, and billboards) you were exposed to resulted in a visit to a physical store. Under certain privacy and data protection laws, this activity may be considered a “sale” of personal data, “sharing” of personal data for cross-context behavioral advertising, or targeted advertising.
We may share data (i) if we are required to do so by law or legal process (such as a court order or subpoena); (ii) in response to duly authorized requests from public authorities, including to meet national security, public interest, or law enforcement requirements (iii) to establish, exercise or defend our legal rights; (iv) when we believe disclosure is necessary or appropriate to prevent physical or other harm or financial loss; (v) in connection with an investigation of suspected or actual illegal activity; (vi) to protect the rights, property, or safety of Akwaaba App and our products and services, our employees, or users and others; or (vii) to otherwise comply with a legal obligation (i.e., conducting due diligence or screening for compliance purposes).
We may also disclose data as part or in anticipation of a business sale, merger, consolidation, investment, change in control, transfer of substantial corporate assets, reorganization, liquidation, or similar business transaction or corporate event.
We acknowledge our potential liability for transfers of personal data among Akwaaba App entities or to third parties.
Taking into account the risks involved in the processing and the nature of the personal data, we maintain reasonable and appropriate administrative, technical, and physical safeguards designed to protect personal data we obtain through the Consumer Services against accidental, unlawful, or unauthorized destruction, loss, alteration, access, disclosure, or use.
To the extent permitted by applicable law, we keep the personal data you provide for the purposes indicated in this Privacy Policy for the duration of our relationship, plus a period of up to three (3) years. Personal data that is not collected directly from you, such as data we receive from third parties, is kept for a period of up to three (3) years following collection. Akwaaba App may retain the information longer for our legitimate business purposes or to comply with the applicable statute of limitations periods and other applicable laws or legal considerations.
We update the database used to create Audiences on a bi-monthly basis to ensure that data older than 3 years is removed from the dataset we use to create our audiences for targeted advertising.
Data that we receive from partners and enterprise customers that is used to measure ad delivery and reporting is retained for a period of 14 months.
Our Consumer Services are intended for a general audience and are not directed at children under the age of 18. We do not knowingly collect personal data online from individuals under the age of 13 or such other age as may be directed by applicable law.
We use cookies and similar technologies (i.e., web beacons or pixels on our website, in our emails, and identifiers supplied by app platform companies within our apps) to understand your use of our Consumer Services; improve your user experience and enable personalized features and content; optimize our advertisements and marketing; and to enable third-party advertising companies to assist us in serving ads specific to your interests across the internet.
Akwaaba App provides you with choices about the setting of cookies and similar technologies through our Privacy Preference Center.
To summarize, your privacy rights and choices include:
In some instances, these rights may be limited, for example, if fulfilling your request would reveal personal data about another person or you ask us to delete information that we are required by law to keep or have compelling legitimate interests to keep.
We will not discriminate against you for exercising your rights and choices. You may have the right to appeal our decision with respect to a request you have submitted. If we are unable to resolve your concerns, you have the right to contact a data privacy supervisory authority in the country where you live or work, or where you consider that the data protection rules may have been breached or seek a remedy through the courts. For questions, concerns, or complaints about our participation in the EU/Swiss-US Privacy Shield, please read about our International Data Transfers.
In the US, the Network Advertising Initiative (“NAI”) and the Digital Advertising Alliance (“DAA”) have established rules about interest-based advertising, including cross-device linking for such advertising. Interest-based advertising is digital advertising that is tailored to a consumer’s inferred interests, preferences, and locations. Cross-device linking is the practice of associating different browsers and/or devices (such as mobile devices and televisions) based on information about the potential relationships among them.
You have the right to opt-out of seeing interest-based ads from us or our Business Partners, Developers & Enterprise Customers that are delivered on various platforms. To do so, please visit:
You can learn more about how opting-out of interest-based advertising works by visiting our Cookies & Similar Technologies Policy.
This Cookie Policy should be read in connection with our Privacy Policy and our Terms of Use.
The cookies that we set are known as “first-party cookies.” Cookies set by third parties, such as companies who serve content, provide advertising, or perform analytics are known as “third-party cookies.” You can learn more about cookies at All About Cookies.
Both websites and HTML emails may also contain other tracking technologies such as web beacons or pixels. Web beacons and pixels are small blocks of code on web pages and in emails that enable us to perform analytics and are often used in connection with cookies. However, web beacons and pixels are not stored in the same ways as cookies. As a result, if you disable cookies, web beacons may still load, but their functionality will be restricted.
Akwaaba App uses cookies and similar technologies for the following reasons:
Most web browsers have an option to customize your cookie settings. For example, you can adjust your permission settings to block all cookies or only third-party cookies. Please be aware that limiting the ability of websites to set cookies may worsen your overall user experience, and in some cases, the services will not work properly without cookies, local storage, and similar technologies.
Some web browsers incorporate “Do Not Track” features. Currently, no industry standard exists for handling “Do Not Track” requests; therefore, at this time, we do not honor “Do Not Track” browser signals.
To opt out of seeing interest-based ads from us or our third-party advertising partners on various platforms, please follow these instructions:
When you opt out on a particular device, we will stop using and transferring data from that device for purposes of interest-based advertising on, and ad delivery/reporting to, other linked devices. Additionally, we will also stop using data coming from other linked devices for interest-based advertising on, and ad delivery/reporting to, the device from which the choice was exercised. If you use more than one device, you should opt out on each device. Certain versions of your device’s operating system permit you to opt out of interest-based advertising. Please visit your device settings to limit such tracking.
Please note that you will still see ads when you opt out of interest-based ads, but they will no longer be based on your interests or behavior. In addition, we may also continue to collect, use and transfer browser data for purposes other than interest-based advertising and ad delivery/reporting, as described in our Privacy Policies.
Google has also developed a web browser plugin to allow you to opt-out of Google Analytics’ tracking software. Visit Google Analytics Opt-out Add-on (by Google) to download.
This notice to California residents is provided under California law, including the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 as amended by the California Privacy Rights Act of 2020 (collectively, the “CCPA”). This notice supplements our Privacy Policy for Consumer Services and applies solely to California consumers that use or interact with our Consumer Services or whose personal data we obtain from third parties. This notice does not apply to individuals in their professional capacity as a representative of an enterprise customer, business partner, data supplier, developer or vendor.
The types and sources of personal data, including sensitive personal data, we collect are detailed in the Personal Data We Collect and Process section of our Privacy Policy for Consumer Services. Below, you may review our CCPA Data Collection, Disclosure & Sale/Sharing Chart for more details regarding the CCPA data categories we collect (or have collected within the last 12 months), as well as the sources of the data.
We provide information on how we use your personal data, including your sensitive personal data, (or have used your personal data within the last 12 months) in the How We Use your Personal Data section of our Privacy Policy for Consumer Services. In addition, we may use (or may have used during the last 12 months) your personal data for the following business purposes specified under the CCPA:
We provide information on how we disclose your personal data, including sensitive personal data in the Disclosing Your Personal Data section of our Privacy Policy for Consumer Services.
We provide information on how we disclose your personal data, including sensitive personal data in the Disclosing Your Personal Data section of our Privacy Policy for Consumer Services.
We disclose personal data to third parties for the business purposes described in the How We Use Your Personal Data section above, including for the performance of services on our behalf. For more information on the categories of third parties to whom we disclose your personal data for a business purpose (or have disclosed your personal data for a business purpose within the last 12 months), please review our CCPA Data Collection, Disclosure & Sale/Sharing Chart.
Sale and Sharing of Your Personal Data
Your personal data, including sensitive personal data, may be incorporated into the products and services sold to our enterprise customers and advertising partners or shared with them for cross-context behavioral advertising purposes. To learn more about our product and service development, as well as the privacy-protecting measures we incorporate, please refer to our Privacy Policy for Consumer Services.
In addition, we may allow certain third parties (such as online advertising services and social networks) to collect your personal data, including your sensitive personal data, via automated technologies on our Consumer Services for the purposes of online advertising or to provide third-party social network features and functionality. You have the right to opt out of disclosing your personal data for these purposes, which may be considered a “sale” or “sharing” for cross-context behavioral advertising under California law.
For more information on the categories of third parties to whom we may sell your personal data or share your personal data for cross-context behavioral advertising (or may have sold or shared your personal data within the last 12 months), please review our CCPA Data Collection, Disclosure & Sale/Sharing Chart.
We do not have actual knowledge that we sell or share for purposes of cross-context behavioral advertising the personal data of minors under 16 years of age.
Retention of Personal Data
We will retain your personal data, including sensitive personal data, as described in the How We Secure & Retain Your Personal Data section of our Privacy Policy for Consumer Service.
Rewarding Consumers
In some cases, for example, with Rewards by Akwaaba App, you may have an opportunity to provide personal data on an ongoing basis in exchange for points you may redeem for prizes, gift cards, and sweepstakes entries. You will be notified of the opportunity to earn rewards and allowed to opt in to earn more additional rewards. The rewards relating to the submission and use of personal data are based on our reasonable but sole determination of the estimated value of such information, which is used in accordance with this notice and our Privacy Policy for Consumer Services.
You can opt out of earning additional rewards at any time by following the instructions in the Rewards by Akwaaba App app.
Your Privacy Choices Under California law,
You may have the right to access, correct, and delete your personal data, limit the use and disclosure of your sensitive personal data, and opt out of the sale of your personal data and the sharing of your personal data for cross-context behavioral advertising. In addition to those rights, Akwaaba App will also honor all privacy rights outlined in Your Privacy Choices. For information about how to exercise these rights, please visit Your Privacy Choices. We will not discriminate against you for exercising these rights.
California Privacy Rights Metrics
Akwaaba App honors privacy rights for all users, regardless of where they are located, and we seek to be transparent about the requests we receive by providing certain metrics. Our global privacy metrics are available here.
Akwaaba App’s CCPA Data Collection, Disclosure & Sale/Sharing Chart
| CCPA Data Category | Data Examples | Data Source | Category of Third Party (Shared) | Category of Third Party (Sold) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Identifiers | Identifiers such as a real name, alias, unique personal identifier (e.g., device IDs; cookies, beacons, pixel tags, mobile ad identifiers), customer number, telephone number, email address (hashed or unhashed), IP address, user name, and other similar identifiers. | You Choose to Provide, Automatically Collected, Data From Third Parties | Affiliates, Service Providers & for Business Purposes | Enterprise Customers, Advertising Partners |
| Commercial Information | Consumer account details including products or services purchased, obtained, or considered, and other purchasing or consuming histories or tendencies. | You Choose to Provide, Automatically Collected, Data From Third Parties | Affiliates, Service Providers & for Business Purposes | |
| Online Activity | Internet and other electronic network activity information (e.g., browsing history, search history, and information regarding your interaction with websites, applications or advertisements). | Automatically Collected, Data From Third Parties | Affiliates, Service Providers & for Business Purposes | |
| Geolocation Data | If you opt-in to sharing your precise or approximate location, we receive data about your location whenever you use our apps or visit our websites. If you opt-in to having background location on in our apps, we will receive location data when the apps are closed or not in use (as permitted by your device settings). | You Choose to Provide, Automatically Collected | Affiliates, Service Providers & for Business Purposes | Enterprise Customers, Advertising Partners (Note: this excludes exact latitude/longitude coordinates and inferred home and work locations.) |
| Sensory Information | Electronic, visual or similar information (e.g., pictures or similar content uploaded to mobile apps and websites). | Affiliates, Service Providers & for Business Purposes | ||
| Employment Information | Professional or employment-related information. | You Choose To Provide, Data From Third Parties | Affiliates, Service Providers & for Business Purposes | Enterprise Customers, Advertising Partners |
| Protected Classifications | Race, age, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, or marital status. | You Choose To Provide, Data From Third Parties | Affiliates, Service Providers & for Business Purposes | Enterprise Customers, Advertising Partners |
| Additional Data | Subject to Cal. Cov. Code § 1798.80, Characteristics or description, and a... | You Choose To Provide, Data From Third Parties | Affiliates, Service Providers & for Business Purposes | Enterprise Customers, Advertising Partners |
| Inferences | Inferences drawn from any of the information identified above to create a profile about you reflecting your preferences, characteristics, psychological trends, predispositions, behavior, attitudes, intelligence, abilities, and aptitudes. Such inferences are used in combination with other data we collect from you to create audiences that are tailored to your interests. | You Choose To Provide, Data From Third Parties | Affiliates, Service Providers & for Business Purposes | Enterprise Customers, Advertising Partners |
In order to provide you with our Consumer Services, it is possible that data you provide may be transferred to or accessed by Akwaaba App affiliates or third parties located in countries other than the country in which you reside. These countries may not have the same data protection laws as the country in which you reside. Akwaaba App will conduct any data transfers in accordance with this Privacy Policy and all applicable laws and permissible data transfer mechanisms. Where the international data transfer programs do not apply, when you download and use our Consumer Services, you consent to the transfer of your data.
Although not currently used for data transfers, Akwaaba App Labs, Inc. complies with the EU-US and Swiss-US Privacy Shield Frameworks, as set forth by the US Department of Commerce regarding the collection, use, and retention of personal data transferred from the EU and/or Switzerland to the US.
Akwaaba App has certified to the Department of Commerce that we adhere to the Privacy Shield Principles. If there is any conflict between the terms in 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, please visit https://www.privacyshield.gov/.
Akwaaba App commits to resolve complaints about our collection or use of your personal data in compliance with the Privacy Shield Principles. Therefore, EU and Swiss individuals with inquiries or complaints regarding our Privacy Shield compliance should first contact us via the methods outlined in the Contact Us section.
Akwaaba App has further committed to refer any unresolved Privacy Shield complaints to the JAMS Privacy Shield Program, an alternative dispute resolution provider. If you do not receive timely acknowledgment of your complaint from us, or have not resolved your complaint, please visit the JAMS Privacy Shield Program (https://www.jamsadr.com/eu-us-privacy-shield) for more information or to file a complaint. The JAMS Privacy Shield Program services are provided at no cost to you.
If your complaint is not resolved through the above channels, under limited circumstances, you may be able to invoke binding arbitration before a Privacy Shield Panel. For more information, visit: https://www.privacyshield.gov/article?id=ANNEX-I-introduction.
The US Federal Trade Commission has jurisdiction over Akwaaba App’s compliance with Privacy Shield.
We may update this Privacy Policy to reflect updates to our practices, technologies, or legal requirements from time to time. We will post the revised Privacy Policy here and indicate when it was most recently updated. If we make material changes in the way we use your data, we will notify you by posting an announcement on our sites or apps, or by sending you an email (to the last email address you provided us).
If you have any questions or concerns about this Policy or our privacy practices, please contact us at hello@akwaabaapp.co
By using the App, you agree to the terms of this Policy. If you do not agree to the terms of this Policy, please do not use the App.