PRIVACY POLICY

Our Privacy Philosophy

This Privacy Policy (“Policy”) describes how Palatelocal, Inc. (“we”, “us”, or “our”) collects, uses, discloses, and retains information through our online platform, website www.palatelocal.com, and app (collectively, the “Platform”). The Platform facilitates home-cooked meal experiences between Hosts and Guests. This Policy explains the information we collect, how we use it, how it may be shared, and how you can contact us about your information.

Please read this Policy carefully to understand our policies and practices. By accessing or using our Platform, you agree to accept all the terms contained in this Policy and acknowledge and agree with the practices described herein. If you do not agree with the terms of this Policy, please do not access and use our Platform.

Information We Collect

We believe in privacy by design and hence only collect necessary data/information from you for the stated purposes as set forth herein. We collect information to provide you with our services, improve them from time to time, to communicate with you, and for other matters connected therewith. The information we collect from you can be broadly categorized as follows:

1. Information You Provide to Us:

a) Account Information: When you sign up for a Palatelocal account, we require certain personal information, such as your first name, last name, email address, mobile number, address, a copy of your identity document, date of birth, and other identifying information.

b) Profile and Listing Information: To use certain features of the Platform (like hosting or booking), we may ask you to provide additional information, which would include your:

Address, places you propose to visit, and profile picture.
For Hosts: details about your meal offering (meal type, dietary categorization, number of guests, etc.), price range.
For Guests: dietary preferences, allergies, price range, details about your family/others who will be visiting with you.
Other information to enable us to curate our services to you.

c) Identity Verification Information: To help create and maintain a trusted environment, we may collect identity verification information (such as images of your government-issued ID, passport, or driver’s license, as permitted by applicable law) or other authentication information to ensure user identity for security and trust purposes.

d) Payment Information: We collect your payment information (such as billing address and transaction details) when you use the payment services to process payments and payouts. All payment card and bank account data is processed securely by our third-party payment processor (currently Stripe, Inc.) and is not stored on Palatelocal’s servers. Please review Stripe’s privacy policy at stripe.com/privacy for details on how they handle your payment data.

e) Communications with Palatelocal and other Users: When you communicate with Palatelocal or use the Platform to communicate with other users (Hosts or Guests), we collect information about your communication and any information you choose to provide. Any information you share on the Platform, including reviews and photos, will be publicly available. Palatelocal reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to review, remove, delete, or hide any content that it determines to be offensive, inappropriate, profane, or otherwise in violation of applicable laws or Platform policies.

f) User-Generated Content: We collect information that you submit when you write reviews, upload photos of experiences, provide ratings, or post other content on the Platform. This information will be publicly visible. Palatelocal may, at its sole discretion, review, remove, delete, or hide any content it considers offensive, inappropriate, profane, or in violation of applicable laws or Platform policies. Palatelocal’s decision shall be final.

g) How We Automatically Collect Information:

Geo-location Information: When you use certain features of our Platform, we may collect information about your precise or approximate location as determined through data such as your IP address or your mobile device’s GPS, to offer you an improved user experience. Where required by applicable law, we will request your permission before collecting precise location data.
Usage Information: We collect information about your interactions with the Platform, such as the pages or content you view, your searches for listings, bookings you have made, and other actions on the Platform.
Device and Log Data: We automatically collect log data and device information when you access and use the Platform. That information includes, among other things, details about how you’ve used the Platform, IP address, access dates and times, hardware and software information, device information, and unique device identifiers.

h) Cookies and Similar Technologies: We use cookies and other similar technologies. Cookies are small data files sent from our website and stored in your web browser and/or local device while you are browsing. With the use of these cookies, we collect information such as your browser type and version, operating system, and the content you viewed or searched on the Platform, and other related information.

i) Information We Collect from Third Parties:

Third-Party Services: If you link, connect, or log in to your Palatelocal account with a third-party service (e.g., Google, Apple, Facebook), the third-party service may send us information such as your registration and profile information from that service, in accordance with your privacy settings on that service.

2. How We Use the Information We Collect:

We use, store, and process information about you primarily to provide and operate the Platform, improve your user experience, communicate with you, support transactions and bookings, and maintain the safety and functionality of the Platform.

a) Provide, Improve, and Develop the Platform: We use your information to enable you to access and use the Platform, facilitate communication between Hosts and Guests, process payments, and provide the services. We also use certain information to enhance service features, improve the functionality of the Platform, and personalize your experience. b) Create and Maintain a Trusted and Safer Environment: The information we collect is critical for ensuring the safety and security of our community. We use it to:

Detect and prevent fraud, spam, abuse, security incidents, and other harmful activities.
Conduct security investigations and risk assessments.
Verify or authenticate information provided by you.
Verify or authenticate information provided by you.
Maintain the security and functionality of the Platform.
Resolve any disputes with any of our users/Hosts/Guests and enforce our agreements with third parties.
Enforce our Terms and Conditions and other policies.

c) Communication and Marketing: We use your personal information to send you service-related communications, such as booking confirmations, reminders, and notifications regarding our services and your account and bookings. We may also contact you with promotional messages, marketing, advertising, and other information that may be of interest to you based on your preferences, where permitted by applicable law, including the. You can opt out of receiving marketing communications from us at any time by following the unsubscribe instructions included in our marketing communications or by adjusting your account notification settings. We will honor opt-out requests within 10 business days. Opting out of marketing communications will not affect transactional or account-related messages.

3. Disclosure of your Information:

We do not sell, trade, rent, or otherwise transfer your personal information to others, except as described in this Policy.

a) Sharing between Hosts and Guests: To provide our services, we will share your information with other users. For example, when a booking is confirmed, we will share the Guest’s name and other relevant details with the Host, and we will share the Host’s address and contact information with the Guest.

b) Service Providers: We share information with third-party vendors, consultants, and other service providers who perform services on our behalf, including payment processing (as further described in Section 4 below), data analytics, identity verification, background checks, and hosting services. These providers, in accordance with written agreements, have access to your personal information only to perform these tasks on our behalf and are obligated not to disclose or use it for any other purpose.

c) Aggregated Data: We may also share aggregated information (information about our users that we combine so that it no longer identifies or references an individual user) and other anonymized information for industry and market analysis, demographic profiling, marketing and advertising, and other business purposes.

d) Legal and Regulatory Compliance: We reserve the right to disclose your personal information (i) to comply with legal process or requests from authorities; (ii) to enforce or apply our Terms and Conditions and other agreements; (iii) if we believe it is necessary or appropriate to protect the rights, property, or safety of Palatelocal, our users, or others; and (iv) for fraud protection, credit risk reduction, prevention of crime, and other similar purposes.

e) Business Transfers: If Palatelocal undertakes or is involved in any merger, acquisition, reorganization, sale of assets, bankruptcy, or insolvency event, then we may sell, transfer, or share some or all of your information in connection with such transaction, including before completing the transaction (e.g., as part of due diligence). We will provide notice before your personal information is subject to a different privacy policy, to the extent required by applicable law.

f) International Data Transfers: Palatelocal is based in the United States and processes personal information in the U.S. If we transfer personal information outside the U.S. to service providers in other countries, we will ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place, such as standard contractual clauses or other legally recognized transfer mechanisms.

4. Third-Party Service Providers:

a) Without prejudice to Section 3(b), the Platform uses the services of payment processor service providers for the provision of payment-related services, which are provided by independent third parties, unaffiliated with us. The terms of their service are specified by them, and we have no responsibility or liability in relation to their services. When you make payments or receive payouts through our Platform, we collect certain payment information such as your name, billing address, and transaction details. All payments are processed securely by our third-party payment processor (currently Stripe, Inc.), which is PCI-DSS compliant. We do not store or have access to your full credit card or bank account details; these are handled directly by the payment provider in accordance with its own privacy policy, available at stripe.com/privacy.

b) The Platform may include links to third-party websites or services. You acknowledge that these sites and services are operated by third parties that are not controlled by, affiliated with, or associated with us unless explicitly stated. We do not endorse or make any representations regarding the privacy practices, policies, or terms of use of these third-party entities. Any information you provide to these third-party sites will be governed by their respective privacy policies.

5. Security Procedures:

a) We are committed to protecting your privacy and continuously implement and update administrative, technical, and physical security measures to safeguard your information against unauthorized access, loss, destruction, or alteration. The personal information of each user is stored on servers that are behind a firewall and housed within secure data centers. We also collaborate with established service providers who adhere to industry-standard security practices to ensure the ongoing protection of your data.

b) While we strive to protect your information, we cannot ensure and do not warrant the absolute security of any information you transmit to us. We are not responsible for circumvention of any privacy settings or security measures contained on our Platform. While we have taken reasonable steps to prevent unauthorized access and ensure any data collected from you is stored securely and safely in accordance with applicable law, we cannot rule out and will not be held liable in the unlikely event of a breach resulting from hacking or other malicious forms of data access.

c) If we become aware of a security incident that affects personal information, we will take appropriate steps to investigate, contain, and address the incident. Any data security vulnerabilities you identify in your use of the Platform may be reported by email to support@palatelocal.com.

6. Rights of the User:

a) Data Retention: We retain personal information for as long as reasonably necessary to provide and operate the Platform, maintain business records, prevent fraud and misuse, resolve disputes, and support legitimate business operations. If you close your Palatelocal account, you may request deletion of your personal information. Some information may be retained for a reasonable period when necessary for business, security, transaction, or recordkeeping purposes.

b) Consent Withdrawal: You can withdraw your consent for storing and/or processing of your information at any time by changing your account settings or by sending a communication to us specifying the consent you are withdrawing. Upon such a withdrawal, in some cases, and depending on the extent to which you have withdrawn your consent, you may no longer be able to access or avail of services offered through the Platform.

c) Access or Deletion of Information: You may contact us to request access to or deletion of personal information that we hold about you. We may need to verify your identity before completing a request.

d) Correction of Information: You may contact us to request correction of inaccurate or incomplete personal information that you cannot update yourself within your Palatelocal account.

e) Grievance Redressal Mechanism: You have the right to a grievance redressal provided by us in respect of any act or omission by us regarding the performance of our obligations in relation to your information.

To exercise any of the above-mentioned rights or seek further details on the process, you are encouraged to contact us using the details provided below.

7. Children’s Privacy:

The Platform is intended only for individuals who are 18 years of age or older. During registration, users must confirm that they are at least 18 years old by selecting an age confirmation checkbox. We do not knowingly permit individuals under 18 to create or use an account on the Platform. If you believe that an individual under 18 has provided personal information to us, please contact us at support@palatelocal.com. We will review the information and take appropriate steps, including deleting the account or personal information where appropriate

8. Modification:

We may change this Privacy Policy from time to time. Changes will be posted on this page so that you can review the current version of the Policy. If we make material changes to how we collect or use personal information, we will provide reasonable notice of the changes through the Platform or by email when appropriate.

9. Contact:

Please contact the following for all matters relating to this Privacy Policy:

Palatelocal Inc.

Email: support@palatelocal.com