Privacy Policy

1. Introduction

FundCreators ("we", "our", "us") is committed to protecting and respecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, and safeguard your personal information when you use our website, mobile application, and services (collectively, the "Platform").

We are the data controller for the personal information collected through our Platform. This means we determine the purposes and means of the processing of your personal information.

Please read this Privacy Policy carefully to understand our practices regarding your personal information and how we will treat it. By using our Platform, you acknowledge that you have read and understood this Privacy Policy.

2. Information We Collect

We collect several types of information from and about users of our Platform, including:

2.1 Information You Provide to Us

• Account Information: When you register for an account, we collect your name, email address, password, and other information you provide during registration.
• Profile Information: Information you add to your profile, such as a profile picture, biography, website links, and social media handles.
• Project Information: If you create a project, we collect the project details, including title, description, funding goal, rewards, images, videos, and other content you provide.
• Payment Information: When you make a contribution to a project or receive funds as a creator, we collect payment information. This may include credit/debit card details, bank account information, and billing address. Payment details are processed by our payment processors, and we do not store complete payment information on our servers.
• Communications: Information you provide when you contact us, respond to surveys, or communicate with other users through our Platform.
• Identity Verification: For certain activities, we may collect additional information to verify your identity, such as a copy of your government-issued ID or proof of address.

2.2 Information We Collect Automatically

• Usage Information: Details of your visits to our Platform, including traffic data, location data, logs, and other communication data, and the resources that you access and use on the Platform.
• Device Information: Information about your computer, mobile device, or other device you use to access the Platform, including IP address, device type, operating system, browser type, and device identifiers.
• Cookies and Similar Technologies: We use cookies and similar tracking technologies to track activity on our Platform and hold certain information. For more information about our use of cookies, please see Section 7 below.
• Location Information: We may collect information about your approximate location based on your IP address or more precise location information if you grant us permission.

2.3 Information We Receive from Third Parties

• Social Media: If you log in to our Platform using a social media account, we receive information from the social media provider, such as your name, email address, and profile picture.
• Payment Processors: We receive information from our payment processors regarding your transactions, including the amount, date, and status of payments.
• Analytics Providers: We receive aggregated information about users' interactions with our Platform from analytics providers.
• Fraud Prevention Services: We may receive information from fraud prevention services about potentially fraudulent activities.

3. How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect for various purposes, including:

3.1 To Provide and Improve Our Services

• To create and manage your account.
• To process transactions and send transaction notifications.
• To provide, maintain, and improve our Platform and services.
• To develop new products and services.
• To personalize your experience on our Platform.
• To respond to your inquiries, comments, or questions.

3.2 For Communication and Marketing

• To communicate with you about your account, projects, contributions, or other interactions with our Platform.
• To send you updates about projects you have backed or created.
• To send you technical notices, security alerts, and administrative messages.
• To send you marketing communications about products, services, or features that may interest you, if you have opted in to receive such communications.
• To notify you about changes to our Platform or policies.

3.3 For Legal and Security Purposes

• To comply with legal obligations.
• To enforce our Terms of Service and other policies.
• To protect the rights, property, or safety of our users, ourselves, or others.
• To detect, prevent, and address fraud, unauthorized access, and other potentially illegal activities.
• To debug and identify errors that impair the functionality of our Platform.

3.4 For Analysis and Improvement

• To analyze usage patterns and trends.
• To monitor and analyze the effectiveness of our Platform and marketing activities.
• To conduct research and development for future features or services.
• To improve the safety, security, and performance of our Platform.

3.5 Legal Basis for Processing

Under the UK GDPR, we must have a lawful basis for processing your personal information. Our lawful bases for processing are:

• Contractual Necessity: Processing is necessary for the performance of our contract with you (our Terms of Service) or to take steps at your request before entering into a contract.
• Legitimate Interests: Processing is necessary for our legitimate interests or the legitimate interests of a third party, provided these interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms.
• Consent: You have given us specific consent to process your personal information for one or more specific purposes.
• Legal Obligation: Processing is necessary for compliance with a legal obligation to which we are subject.

4. How We Share Your Information

We may share your personal information with the following categories of recipients:

4.1 With Other Users

• If you create a project, we share the information you provide about your project with all users of the Platform.
• If you make a contribution to a project, we share your name (unless you choose to contribute anonymously) and contribution amount with the project creator.
• If you post comments or send messages through our Platform, these communications may be visible to other users.

4.2 With Service Providers

• Payment processors to process transactions.
• Cloud hosting providers to store data.
• Analytics providers to help us understand how users interact with our Platform.
• Customer service providers to assist with user inquiries.
• Marketing providers to send communications to users who have opted in.
• Fraud prevention services to protect against fraudulent activities.

4.3 For Legal Reasons

• To comply with legal obligations, such as responding to lawful requests from public authorities.
• To enforce our Terms of Service and other policies.
• To protect the rights, property, or safety of our users, ourselves, or others.
• In connection with a merger, sale of company assets, financing, or acquisition of all or a portion of our business.

4.4 With Your Consent

We may share your personal information with other parties with your consent or at your direction.

4.5 International Transfers

We may transfer your personal information to recipients in countries other than the country in which you initially provided the information. If we transfer personal information from the UK or the European Economic Area (EEA) to a country that does not provide an adequate level of protection, we will implement appropriate safeguards, such as standard contractual clauses approved by the UK Information Commissioner's Office or the European Commission.

5. How We Protect Your Information

We have implemented appropriate technical and organizational measures to protect your personal information from unauthorized access, use, alteration, and disclosure. These measures include:

• Encryption of sensitive data.
• Regular security assessments and testing.
• Access controls and authentication mechanisms.
• Secure data storage and transmission protocols.
• Staff training on data protection and security.

However, no method of transmission over the internet or electronic storage is 100% secure. Therefore, while we strive to protect your personal information, we cannot guarantee its absolute security.

6. Your Rights and Choices

Under UK and EU data protection laws, you have certain rights regarding your personal information:

6.1 Access and Information

You have the right to access and receive a copy of the personal information we hold about you, including information about how we use it.

6.2 Rectification

You have the right to request that we correct any inaccurate or incomplete personal information we hold about you.

6.3 Erasure

You have the right to request that we delete your personal information in certain circumstances, for example, when the information is no longer necessary for the purposes for which it was collected.

6.4 Restriction of Processing

You have the right to request that we restrict the processing of your personal information in certain circumstances, for example, if you contest the accuracy of the information.

6.5 Data Portability

You have the right to receive your personal information in a structured, commonly used, and machine-readable format and to transmit that information to another controller.

6.6 Objection

You have the right to object to the processing of your personal information in certain circumstances, including processing for direct marketing purposes.

6.7 Automated Decision-Making

You have the right not to be subject to a decision based solely on automated processing, including profiling, which produces legal effects concerning you or similarly significantly affects you.

6.8 Withdrawing Consent

Where we process your personal information based on your consent, you have the right to withdraw that consent at any time.

6.9 How to Exercise Your Rights

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at privacy@fundcreators.com. We will respond to your request within one month, although we may extend this period by up to two additional months if necessary due to the complexity of the request.

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) if you believe that we have not complied with the requirements of data protection law. You can contact the ICO at https://ico.org.uk/concerns/ or by telephone at 0303 123 1113.

7. Cookies and Similar Technologies

We use cookies and similar technologies to collect information about your browsing activities and to distinguish you from other users of our Platform. This helps us provide you with a good experience when you browse our Platform and allows us to improve our Platform.

7.1 What Are Cookies?

Cookies are small text files that are stored on your device when you visit a website. They are widely used to make websites work more efficiently and provide information to the website's owners.

7.2 Types of Cookies We Use

• Essential Cookies: These are necessary for our Platform to function properly and cannot be turned off. They are usually only set in response to actions you take, such as logging in or filling out forms.
• Analytical/Performance Cookies: These allow us to recognize and count the number of visitors and see how visitors move around our Platform. This helps us improve our Platform's functionality.
• Functionality Cookies: These are used to recognize you when you return to our Platform. This enables us to personalize our content for you and remember your preferences.
• Targeting Cookies: These record your visit to our Platform, the pages you have visited, and the links you have followed. We use this information to make our Platform and the advertising displayed on it more relevant to your interests.

7.3 Managing Cookies

Most web browsers allow you to control cookies through their settings preferences. However, if you limit the ability of websites to set cookies, you may impair your overall user experience. To find out more about cookies, including how to see what cookies have been set and how to manage and delete them, visit www.allaboutcookies.org.

7.4 Cookie Settings

When you first visit our Platform, we will ask you for your consent to set non-essential cookies. You can change your cookie preferences at any time by clicking on the "Cookie Settings" link in the footer of our Platform.

8. Data Retention

We retain your personal information for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes for which we collected it, including for the purposes of satisfying any legal, accounting, or reporting requirements.

To determine the appropriate retention period for personal information, we consider:

• The amount, nature, and sensitivity of the personal information.
• The potential risk of harm from unauthorized use or disclosure of your personal information.
• The purposes for which we process your personal information and whether we can achieve those purposes through other means.
• The applicable legal, regulatory, tax, accounting, or other requirements.

In some circumstances, we may anonymize your personal information so that it can no longer be associated with you, in which case we may use such information without further notice to you.

9. Children's Privacy

Our Platform is not intended for children under the age of 18. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 18. If you are a parent or guardian and you believe your child has provided us with personal information, please contact us at privacy@fundcreators.com. If we discover that a child under 18 has provided us with personal information, we will promptly delete such information from our servers.

10. Third-Party Links and Services

Our Platform may contain links to third-party websites, services, or applications that are not operated by us. This Privacy Policy does not apply to such third-party services. We recommend reviewing the privacy policies of any third-party services you access through our Platform.

11. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of any significant changes by posting the new Privacy Policy on this page and updating the "Last Updated" date at the top. You are advised to review this Privacy Policy periodically for any changes. Changes to this Privacy Policy are effective when they are posted on this page.