Privacy Policy for Sparke
Effective Date: 27 September 2024
This Privacy Policy explains how Sparke ("Sparke," "we," or "us") collects, uses, and discloses information about you when you access or use our website https://sparkebooks.com (the "Website"), mobile applications (the "App"), and other online products and services (collectively, the "Services"), or when you otherwise interact with us.
By using our Services, you agree to the collection, use, and disclosure of your information as described in this Privacy Policy. If you do not agree with our policies and practices, please do not use our Services.
1. Information We Collect
a. Information You Provide to Us
We collect information you provide directly to us, including:
Account Information: When you create an account, we may collect your name, email address, password, and other necessary information.
Profile Information: You may choose to provide additional information such as a profile picture, biography, interests, and other details to personalize your profile.
Content You Share: This includes the content you post, upload, or otherwise submit through the Services, such as stories, comments, messages, and reviews.
Payment Information: If you make a purchase or subscription, we (or our third-party payment processors) collect payment details, such as credit card numbers and billing addresses.
Communications: Information you provide when you contact us directly, such as your name, email address, and the content of your message.
b. Information We Collect Automatically
When you access or use our Services, we may automatically collect information about you, including:
Device Information: Information about the device you use to access the Services, including hardware model, operating system, unique device identifiers, mobile network information, and browser type.
Usage Information: Details about your interactions with the Services, including access times, pages viewed, links clicked, features used, and other activity.
Location Information: We may collect information about the location of your device each time you access or use our mobile application if you have granted us permission to do so.
Cookies and Similar Technologies: We use cookies, web beacons, and other tracking technologies to collect information about you. See the "Cookies and Similar Technologies" section below for more details.
c. Information We Collect from Other Sources
Social Media Platforms: If you choose to link or sign up using a third-party service (e.g., Facebook, Google), we may collect information from that service, such as your public profile, friends list, and email address. We will request your permission before accessing and storing this information.
Third-Party Partners: We may receive information about you from other sources, such as data providers and marketing partners, and combine it with information we have about you.
2. How We Use Your Information
We use the information we collect for purposes described in this Privacy Policy or disclosed to you in connection with our Services. These include:
Providing and Improving Services: To operate, maintain, and improve our Services, personalize your experience, and develop new features.
Communications: To send you technical notices, updates, security alerts, support messages, and respond to your inquiries.
Marketing and Advertising: To send you promotional messages and content, and to measure the effectiveness of our marketing efforts.
Analytics: To monitor and analyze trends, usage, and activities in connection with our Services.
Legal Compliance: To comply with legal obligations, resolve disputes, and enforce our agreements.
Preventing Fraud: To detect, investigate, and prevent fraudulent transactions and other illegal activities.
Personalization: To customize the content and advertisements you see on the Services and third-party sites.
3. Mobile Device Permissions
When you use our App, we may request certain permissions to access features on your device, such as:
Location Data: To provide location-based services, we may request access to your device's precise geolocation.
Camera and Photos: To allow you to upload photos or other content, we may request access to your device's camera and photo library.
Push Notifications: With your consent, we may send you push notifications or alerts.
You can manage your device permissions through your device settings.
4. How We Share Your Information
We may share your information in the following ways:
With Your Consent: We may share or disclose your information at your direction or with your consent.
Service Providers: We share information with third-party vendors and service providers who need access to such information to perform work on our behalf, such as payment processing, data analysis, email delivery, hosting services, customer service, and marketing assistance.
Social Sharing Features: If you use social sharing features, your actions may be shared with your friends or the public, depending on the settings you establish with the third-party social network.
Legal Obligations: We may disclose your information to comply with legal processes, such as court orders or subpoenas, or in response to lawful requests by public authorities.
Business Transfers: In the event of a merger, acquisition, reorganization, sale of assets, or bankruptcy, your information may be transferred or sold as part of that transaction.
Protection of Rights: We may disclose information if we believe it's necessary to protect the rights, property, or safety of Sparke, our users, or the public.
We do not sell your personal information to third parties for their own marketing purposes.
5. Your Privacy Choices
a. Access and Control Over Your Information
Account Information: You may access, update, or delete your account information at any time by logging into your account settings or contacting us at contact@sparkebooks.com.
Data Deletion: You can request the deletion of your personal information by contacting us. We will process your request in accordance with applicable laws.
Revoking Permissions: If you have connected your account to a third-party service (e.g., Facebook), you can revoke our access to that service by changing the appropriate settings in the service's platform.
Mobile Device Settings: You can control the App's access to certain device information through your device settings.
b. Marketing Communications
Opt-Out: You can opt out of receiving promotional emails by following the instructions in those emails or by contacting us at contact@sparkebooks.com. If you opt out, we may still send you non-promotional communications.
c. Cookies and Tracking Technologies
Browser Settings: Most web browsers are set to accept cookies by default. You can adjust your browser settings to remove or reject browser cookies.
Mobile Advertising: You can opt out of targeted advertising on mobile applications by checking the privacy settings of your Android or iOS device and selecting "limit ad tracking" (iOS) or "opt-out of interest-based ads" (Android).
6. Data Security
We implement reasonable administrative, technical, and physical security measures to protect your personal information from unauthorized access and use. However, no security measures are 100% secure, and we cannot guarantee the security of your information.
7. Children's Privacy
Our Services are not intended for individuals under the age of 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If we become aware that a child has provided us with personal information, we will take steps to delete such information.
8. International Data Transfers
Sparke is based in the United States, and we may process and store information in the U.S. or other countries. By using our Services, you consent to the transfer of your information to countries outside of your country of residence, which may have different data protection laws.
9. Changes to This Privacy Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. If we make significant changes, we will notify you by email or through our Services, or by posting a notice on our Website prior to the change becoming effective. We encourage you to review the Privacy Policy periodically to stay informed about our practices.
10. Contact Us
If you have any questions or concerns about this Privacy Policy or our data practices, please contact us at:
Email: contact@sparkebooks.com
Address: [Insert Mailing Address]
11. Additional Information for California Residents
Under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), California residents have specific rights regarding their personal information.
a. Rights Under CCPA
Right to Know: You have the right to request that we disclose certain information about our collection and use of your personal information over the past 12 months.
Right to Delete: You have the right to request that we delete any of your personal information that we collected from you and retained.
Right to Opt-Out: You have the right to opt out of the sale of your personal information. However, we do not sell personal information.
Right to Non-Discrimination: We will not discriminate against you for exercising any of your CCPA rights.
To exercise your rights under the CCPA, please contact us at contact@sparkebooks.com.
12. Cookies and Similar Technologies
We use cookies and similar tracking technologies to collect information about your interactions with our Services. This helps us:
Authenticate Users: To keep you logged in and ensure your account security.
Remember Preferences: To remember your settings and preferences.
Analyze Usage: To understand how you use our Services and improve them.
Marketing: To deliver personalized advertisements and measure their effectiveness.
Managing Cookies
You can control cookies through your browser settings. However, disabling cookies may affect the functionality of our Services.
13. Interest-Based Advertising and Cross-Device Tracking
We participate in interest-based advertising and may work with third-party advertising companies that use cookies and similar technologies to collect information about your use of our Services and other websites.
Cross-Device Matching
We may use the information we collect to establish connections between related web browsers and devices for targeted advertising, analytics, and reporting purposes.
Interest-Based Advertising Opt-Out
To opt out of interest-based advertising:
Digital Advertising Alliance: www.aboutads.info/choices
Network Advertising Initiative: www.networkadvertising.org/choices
Please note that opting out does not mean you will not see ads; it means the ads you see may not be personalized based on your interests.
Do Not Track Signals
Our Services do not respond to "Do Not Track" (DNT) signals. For more information about DNT, visit www.allaboutdnt.com.
14. Third-Party Websites and Services
Our Services may contain links to third-party websites or services that are not owned or controlled by Sparke. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of these third parties. We encourage you to read their privacy policies before providing any information to them.
15. Compliance with Facebook's Policies
We comply with Facebook's Platform Policies regarding data collection, use, and sharing:
Data Collected via Facebook: When you use our Services through Facebook or connect your account with Facebook, we may collect information from your Facebook profile, such as your name, profile picture, email address, and friends list.
Use of Facebook Data: We use the data collected from Facebook only for the purposes of operating our Services and enhancing your experience. We do not sell this data or use it for unsolicited marketing.
User Consent: We obtain your explicit consent before accessing your Facebook data and provide you with the option to disconnect your Facebook account at any time.
Data Sharing and Disclosure: We do not share Facebook data with third parties except as necessary to provide our Services or as required by law.
Data Security: We implement strong security measures to protect the data collected from Facebook against unauthorized access or disclosure.
Data Deletion: You can request the deletion of data we have collected from Facebook by contacting us at contact@sparkebooks.com.
16. Your Rights Under GDPR (For Users in the European Economic Area)
If you are located in the European Economic Area (EEA), you have certain rights under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR):
Right to Access: You have the right to request access to your personal data.
Right to Rectification: You can request that we correct any inaccurate or incomplete personal data.
Right to Erasure: You can request that we delete your personal data under certain circumstances.
Right to Restrict Processing: You can ask us to restrict the processing of your personal data.
Right to Data Portability: You have the right to receive your personal data in a structured, commonly used, and machine-readable format.
Right to Object: You can object to the processing of your personal data in certain cases.
To exercise your rights, please contact us at contact@sparkebooks.com.
17. Changes to Your Information
If your personal information changes, you may update it by accessing your account settings or by contacting us at contact@sparkebooks.com.
18. Push Notifications and Alerts
With your consent, we may send push notifications or alerts to your mobile device to provide updates, reminders, or other relevant messages. You can manage these notifications by adjusting your device's settings.
19. Data Retention
We retain your personal information for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes for which we collected it, including any legal, accounting, or reporting requirements.
20. Data Protection Officer
If you have any concerns or questions about your privacy or this policy, you may contact our Data Protection Officer at:
Email: contact@sparkebooks.com