Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy (the “Policy”) explains how Freetalk (“Freetalk”, “we”, “us”, or “our”) collects, uses, discloses, stores, and protects information about you when you access or use the Freetalk mobile applications, websites, and related services (collectively, the “Service”). Freetalk is operated by the developer identified in our Apple App Store and Google Play listings. This Policy forms part of, and is incorporated by reference into, our Terms of Service.

By creating an account, accessing, or using the Service, you acknowledge that you have read and understood this Policy and agree to the collection, use, and disclosure of your information as described here. If you do not agree, you must not access or use the Service.

1. Who We Are & Scope

For the purposes of applicable data-protection laws (including the EU and UK General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”), the California Consumer Privacy Act as amended by the California Privacy Rights Act (“CCPA/CPRA”), and the Australian Privacy Act 1988), Freetalk acts as the controller/business responsible for personal information processed through the Service. This Policy applies to all users of the Service worldwide. It does not apply to third-party websites, apps, or services that may link to or integrate with the Service, which are governed by their own privacy policies.

2. Information We Collect

We collect the following categories of information:

• Account & identity: when you sign in with Google or Apple we receive your name, email address, and profile picture. If you register with email, we store your email and a securely hashed password.
• Profile: username, display name, bio, avatar, links, and other details you choose to provide.
• User content: videos, images, audio, captions, hashtags, comments, direct and group messages, voice messages, shop listings, and any other content you create, upload, or transmit.
• Interactions & usage: likes, bookmarks, follows, views, watch activity, searches, gifts sent and received, reports you submit, and how you navigate and interact with the Service.
• Purchases & payments: records of coin purchases, gift transactions, creator earnings (Stars), withdrawal requests, and shop orders, including shipping addresses you provide for physical orders. Card and bank details are processed by our payment providers (Apple, Google, and Stripe); we do not collect or store full card numbers.
• Device & technical: app version, device type and operating system, language settings, push-notification tokens, IP-derived approximate region, and diagnostic, performance, and crash data used to keep the Service working.
• Communications: information you provide when you contact us for support, report content, or otherwise communicate with us.

We do not intentionally collect special-category or sensitive personal data (such as racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious beliefs, health, biometric, or precise geolocation data). Please do not submit such information through the Service.

3. Device Permissions

With your consent, the app may request access to your camera and microphone (to record videos and voice messages), your photo/media library (to upload videos and images), and notifications (to alert you about likes, comments, messages, gifts, and orders). You can decline or revoke these permissions at any time in your device settings; some features may not work without them.

4. How We Use Your Information

We use your information to:

• create, operate, maintain, secure, and improve the Service;
• authenticate you and protect your account;
• display, rank, and recommend content in your feed and across the Service;
• enable creator, shop, messaging, coin, gift, and payment features;
• process coin purchases, gifts, withdrawals, and shop orders;
• send notifications and service communications you have opted into;
• detect, prevent, and respond to fraud, abuse, security incidents, and violations of our Terms;
• perform analytics and diagnostics to understand and improve performance and reliability; and
• comply with legal, regulatory, tax, and law-enforcement obligations and to establish, exercise, or defend legal claims.

We do not sell your personal information, and we do not “share” it for cross-context behavioral advertising as those terms are defined under the CCPA/CPRA.

5. Legal Bases for Processing (EEA/UK)

Where the GDPR applies, we rely on the following legal bases: performance of a contract (to provide the Service you request); your consent (for example, optional permissions and notifications, which you may withdraw at any time); our legitimate interests (to secure, improve, and operate the Service, prevent abuse, and develop new features, balanced against your rights); and compliance with legal obligations.

6. How We Share Your Information

Your public profile, videos, and engagement counts are visible to other users and may appear in search engines. We share data with service providers (processors) only as necessary to operate the Service, including:

• Google (sign-in; Google Play billing for in-app purchases)
• Apple (sign-in; App Store in-app purchases on iOS)
• Stripe (payment processing for web purchases, shop orders, and creator payouts)
• Cloudflare (video streaming, image/file storage, content delivery, and security)
• Neon (database hosting)
• Sentry (crash, error, and performance diagnostics)

We may also disclose information: (a) to comply with applicable law, regulation, legal process, or governmental or law-enforcement request; (b) to enforce our Terms and other agreements; (c) to detect, prevent, or address fraud, security, or technical issues; (d) to protect the rights, property, or safety of Freetalk, our users, or the public; and (e) in connection with, or during negotiations of, any merger, financing, acquisition, reorganization, bankruptcy, or sale of assets, in which case information may be transferred as a business asset.

7. International Data Transfers

We and our service providers may process and store your information in countries other than your own, including the United States and other jurisdictions that may have different data-protection laws. Where we transfer personal data out of the EEA, UK, or other restricted regions, we rely on appropriate safeguards such as the European Commission’s Standard Contractual Clauses or other lawful transfer mechanisms.

8. Children

The Service is not directed to children under 13 (or the higher minimum age required in your jurisdiction), and we do not knowingly collect personal information from them. Certain features (such as buying coins, sending gifts, shopping, and advertising) are intended for adults. If you believe a child has provided us with personal information, contact us and we will take steps to delete it.

9. Data Retention & Deletion

We retain your account data while your account is active and as needed to provide the Service. You may delete your account at any time — in the app under Settings & privacy → Delete account, or by visiting freetalk.social/account/delete. Deleting your account permanently removes your profile, content, and associated personal data. We may retain limited records where required or permitted by law — for example, for legal, security, fraud-prevention, dispute-resolution, tax, accounting, or financial-compliance purposes (such as transaction records for purchases and payouts) — for as long as reasonably necessary.

10. Security

We use reasonable technical and organizational measures designed to protect your information, including encrypted transmission over HTTPS and hashed passwords. However, no method of transmission over the internet or method of electronic storage is completely secure. While we strive to protect your information, we cannot and do not guarantee its absolute security, and you provide information to us at your own risk. You are responsible for keeping your login credentials confidential.

11. Cookies & Local Storage

On the web we use a session cookie for authentication and local storage to remember preferences such as mute state. We do not use advertising or cross-site tracking cookies. You can control cookies through your browser settings, though some features may not function without them.

12. Your Rights & Choices

Depending on where you live, you may have some or all of the following rights regarding your personal information: to access, correct, update, port, or delete it; to object to or restrict certain processing; to withdraw consent; and to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority. If you are in California, you may have rights to know, delete, and correct personal information and to be free from discrimination for exercising those rights; because we do not sell or share personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising, no opt-out of sale/sharing is required. To exercise any of these rights, contact us using the details below. We will respond within the time required by applicable law and may need to verify your identity before acting on your request.

13. Third-Party Content & Links

The Service may contain user-generated content, links, or integrations that direct you to third-party sites or services. We are not responsible for the privacy practices, content, or conduct of any third party. We encourage you to review the privacy policies of any third party before providing information to them.

14. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Policy from time to time. When we make material changes, we will update the “Last updated” date above and, where required by law, provide additional notice. Your continued use of the Service after changes take effect constitutes your acceptance of the revised Policy.

15. Disclaimers & Limitation of Liability

To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, the Service and all information it contains are provided on an “as is” and “as available” basis without warranties of any kind. Nothing in this Policy limits any rights you may have under mandatory data-protection laws. Except for those non-waivable rights, and to the fullest extent permitted by law, Freetalk and its operators, owners, affiliates, and service providers shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages, or any loss of data, arising out of or relating to the processing of your information or your use of the Service. Your use of the Service and any disputes arising from it are also governed by the limitation-of-liability, indemnification, dispute-resolution, and arbitration provisions in our Terms of Service, which are incorporated here by reference.

16. Contact

For privacy questions, requests, or complaints, contact our privacy point of contact at privacy@freetalk.social.