We value your privacy and commit to using your personal information only as described in this Privacy Policy. This Policy governs the AskAround app, its associated websites, subdomains, portals, products, goods, any interactive features, and other services that link to this Privacy Policy (collectively, the "App"). It also governs the information we collect from you within the App. We refer to all of these provisions collectively as our "Services."
We aim to transparently communicate what information we collect from you, the reasons for its collection, how we use it, under what circumstances we might share it, how we safeguard it, and how you can alter the use of your information.
Throughout this Policy, "Personal Information" means any information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person. We do not sell your information, nor do we intend to do so in the future.
This Policy applies to the information we collect:
If you voluntarily provide information while interacting with the App or using our Services (such as posting a photo or reviewing a location), we will consider this as your consent to our collection, use, and disclosure of information as outlined in this Privacy Policy.
This Privacy Policy is also an integral part of our Terms of Service (the “Terms”), which govern your use of the App and Services.
We collect several types of information from and about users of our App, including information contained in the profile you create to register on our App, such as:
Personal Information. Your name, username, email and password, profile picture, social media login (optional), phone number/WhatsApp, city you're based in (optional), biography about yourself (optional), travel interests (optional), address book contact information including name and phone numbers (optional).
Providing this information is voluntary—you can still use the AskAround App without it, although your experience may be limited without a profile.
Usage and Device Information. Certain information is automatically collected when you use our App or Services. This may include your IP address, IDFA, Android or Google Advertising ID, IMEI, or other unique identifiers, or device information (such as browser type, browser language, operating system, hardware, and network data). We use software development kits ("SDKs") and other analytics tools, such as PostHog, to gather data on App usage and operational metrics. This analytical data helps us understand user behaviour within the App, such as referral and exit pages, the areas of the App you visit, and your activities therein, including preferences and device data like visit times or session duration. This information may be shared with analytics providers, though it is typically not linked to personal identifiers like your name or email address. For more details on PostHog’s data use, visit Posthog’s privacy page.
Location Information. For enhanced service delivery—as we are a geolocation-based application - your location, taken from some or all of the following geolocation methods: GPS, WiFi, Bluetooth and/or cellular technology in your device. With your consent, we collect location information from photographs in your Travel History and your background GPS location.
WhatsApp Notifications. As part of enhancing user experience, we may send notifications through WhatsApp for features like Uncover Weekly, Who’s Around, Adventure Around, and other updates. You will have the ability to customize your notification preferences, including opting out entirely, through your account settings. By using our Services, you consent to receive these notifications unless you choose to opt out. We ensure compliance with WhatsApp’s Business Terms, respecting user preferences and privacy at all times. You can check WhatsApp's Privacy Policy here.
At any time, you may log in and change this information, or remove it. You may decline to provide Personal Information to the Services, however, some of the Personal Information we ask you to provide, for example, the email address is mandatory for a Service. If you decline to provide it, we may not be able to provide that service to you.
Non-Personal Information.
Tracking technologies: in connection with the performance of the Services, AskAround uses:
Log Data monitoring: we may collect log data whenever you access our tool. This data could include an IP address, browser type and version, and other user statistics. When you access AskAround with a mobile device, log data may include the type of device, your mobile unique ID, the IP address of your device, your mobile operating system, and other mobile statistics.
Third-party services: we may use third-party services, such as PostHog that collect and analyze log data to help us improve AskAround, and occasionally to use for targeted online advertising. Our third-party partners may use cookies or other tracking technologies to provide you with advertising on other sites based on your browsing activities and interests. We encourage you to review the privacy policies of any third-party services before engaging with them through our App. You can find more information about these practices, including how to opt out of receiving targeted advertising here: http://www.aboutads.info/choices/.
You may reach out to us via webforms on our Site and in the App, where we generally request only your name and email address. Please avoid providing additional personal information through these forms, but if you do, you are allowing us to use it.
Based on the requirements of the California Online Privacy Protection Act, AskAround declares that it does not correspond to Do Not Track browser signals.
We collect information primarily to enhance your user experience and for the operation of the Services. Our use of your information may include:
We will never sell, rent, or lease your Personal Information to a third party, but we may occasionally need to share your information with third parties who provide services integral to our operations (such as email or marketing vendors, or third-party payment processors). This sharing will only occur under strict contractual agreements that prohibit these third parties from disclosing or using the information for purposes other than those they were engaged in. Additionally, we may use or share specific information you have provided, such as your photos or social media handles, with our partners or other third parties for co-branded activities. We may also utilize your information to present you with promotional offers or opportunities to participate in our contests. If you have tagged us in a social media post or directly messaged us information about a location you visited, your social media handle or other personal information may be used by us on our App or across our social media platforms.
At times, we may aggregate, de-identify, or anonymize the information collected through the App or Services so it can no longer be associated with you personally. This anonymized data may be used or shared for any purpose, including but not limited to research and marketing purposes, and we may also distribute this data to our affiliates and third-party collaborator
Additionally, we may be required to share your information under the following circumstances:
Furthermore, we may share your information upon receiving your explicit consent at the time such information is collected, for instance, if you choose to participate in sweepstakes or contests offered by us.
We may disclose Non-Personal Information for any purpose because this information cannot be used to identify you or another person.
You may occasionally receive emails related to your use of AskAround. Based on the Personal Information that you provide us, we may communicate with you in response to your inquiries to provide the Services you request and to manage your account. If we have your consent, we may also use your Personal Information to send you updates and other promotional communications. Every email will contain a link to be able to opt out of receiving it. We may still send important messages regarding administrative matters, updates, disputes, and customer service issues that are required to provide the Services.
You have the following rights regarding your Personal Information:
Please be aware that these rights may be limited by applicable laws and depend on technical feasibility.
If you are not able to exercise these rights through your AskAround’s account, please contact us at admin@askaround.travel. We may require additional information or identifying documents from you to verify your identity and process your request.
If you are a resident of California and you want to implement your rights under the California Consumer Privacy Act, please refer to Clause 15 of this Privacy Policy.
Unless you specifically request that we delete your Personal Information, we will keep it for as long as we need to meet our Terms of Service, give you Services, and maintain the effective operation of our business.
If you ask us to delete your Personal Information, we may still be obliged to retain it for the following purposes: (i) to follow the law or rules (like maintaining transaction records), (ii) to deal with legal issues or defend ourselves in legal claims, and (iii) to protect against fraud or abuse on our Service. This implies that different types of Personal Information may be kept for different amounts of time.
Sometimes, we might not be able to delete, make anonymous, or hide your Personal Information right away because of technical, legal, or operational reasons. In these situations, we will take reasonable measures to securely isolate your Personal Information from any further processing until we can properly delete, make anonymous, or de-identify it.
If your account is inactive for 2 years or more, AskAround reserves the right to permanently delete your account with all its data, including your list of subscribers and your content. If AskAround decides to delete your account, you will be informed via email. You will then be given 30 days to export the data or reactivate your account before the account is permanently deleted.
By using the Service, you represent that you are at least 16 years of age. If you believe that a child under 16 may have provided us with personal information, please contact us at admin@askaround.travel.
"Do Not Track" (DNT) is a privacy preference that users can set in their web browsers to inform websites and other web services that they do not want certain information about their webpage visits collected over time and across websites.
AskAround does not currently respond to DNT signals. We do not track our users across third-party websites to provide targeted advertising and therefore do not respond to Do Not Track (DNT) signals.
For more detailed information about Do Not Track mechanisms, please visit the following link: Learn More About Do Not Track.
For your convenience, the App and this Privacy Policy may contain links to other websites. None of the links on the App should be deemed to imply that AskAround endorses or has any affiliation with the links. AskAround is not responsible for the privacy practices, advertising, products, services, or the content of such other websites. Please see our Terms of Service for more information.
AskAround takes and incorporates commercially reasonable safeguards, and technical and organizational security precautions to ensure a level of security appropriate to the risk, and follows industry best practices to protect your Personal Information from any unauthorized or unlawful breach of security that leads to the accidental or unlawful destruction, loss, alteration, unauthorized disclosure of or access to Personal Information and to preserve the security and confidentiality of the data. However, no data transmission over the Internet, mobile networks, wireless transmission, or electronic storage of information can be guaranteed 100% secure. As a result, we cannot guarantee or warrant the security of any information you transmit to or from the App, and by using our Service, you acknowledge that you understand and agree to assume these risks.
The user is responsible for reviewing the information made available by AskAround relating to its data security and making an independent determination as to whether the Services meet the user’s requirements and legal obligations under Data Protection Laws. Also, the user is responsible for its secure use of the Services, including securing its account authentication credentials, protecting the security of Personal Information when in transit to and from the Services and taking any appropriate steps to securely encrypt or backup any Personal Information uploaded to the Services.
Ask Around uses Heroku as its cloud service provider to store Ask Around’s database and host our servers. Heroku employs robust security measures to safeguard data. You can check Heroku’s Privacy Policy here.
For asset storage, such as images, Ask Around utilizes Amazon Web Services (AWS). AWS provides secure and scalable storage, ensuring the integrity and availability of your data. You can check the AWS Privacy Policy here.
This section applies exclusively to individuals residing in California (“California Users”). It delineates our procedures for collecting, using, and sharing the Personal Information of California Users in our capacity as a business according to the California Consumer Privacy Act ("CCPA"), along with the associated rights regarding such Personal Information. For this clause, "Personal Information" refers to the definition of “Personal Information” as it is outlined in the CCPA.
California Users can exercise the subsequent rights regarding their Personal Information, but these rights are not unconditional, and there may be instances where we are authorized to reject your request according to CCPA:
If you are not able to exercise these rights through your AskAround account, California Users may exercise these rights over their Personal Information by contacting us at admin@askaround.travel
We reserve the right to modify this Privacy Policy at any time. Any changes will be posted on this page and will indicate the date they were last revised. Please check this Privacy Policy periodically if you are concerned about how your information is used.
If you have any questions or concerns about this Privacy Policy or our treatment of your information, please contact us at admin@askaround.travel
We value your interaction with AskAround and are committed to providing you with exceptional service while respecting your privacy.
Thank you for choosing AskAround!
