This Policy describes the information we collect from you and how we use that information. It applies to any of the Services that HelpACop or any of its subsidiaries or affiliates provide. If you see a capitalized word, it’s defined in our Terms of Use.
Protecting your information—and being transparent about the ways we use it—is one of the core commitments we make to you. You entrust us with your information, and we take our responsibility to protect that trust to heart.
What We Collect
In order for you to create an account on HelpACop and use our Services, we need to collect and process some information. Depending on your use of the Services, that may include:
- Information that you provide by completing forms on HelpACop — your name, email and postal addresses, telephone number, country of residence, login, and password details. We will ask for this information if you register as a user of the Services, subscribe to our newsletters, upload or submit any material through HelpACop, or request any information;
- Details of any requests or transactions you make through the Services. All payment information you submit is collected and used by our payment processors in accordance with their privacy policies. HelpACop doesn’t store your payment information apart from the last four digits of your account, expiration date, and country, which we require for tax, government regulatory, and security purposes;
- Information about your activity on and interaction with HelpACop (such as your IP address, the type of device or browser you use, and your actions on the site);
- Communications you send to us (for example, when you ask for support, send us questions or comments, or report a problem); and
- Information that you submit to HelpACop in the form of comments, contributions to discussions, or messages to other users.
How we Use this Information
We use the information we collect for the following purposes:
- To keep your account secure;
- To enable us to provide you with our Services, and to improve, promote, and protect our Services;
- To set up and administer your account, contact you, and customize your experience on HelpACop (for example, to show you projects that we think may interest you based on your previous use); and
- To track use of the Services so that we can improve HelpACop.
How this Information is Shared
Information that’s shared publicly
When you create an account, we create a basic profile page for you on HelpACop, containing your account name, the date the account was created, and a list of campaigns you have backed or launched. Whenever your account name appears on HelpACop (for instance, when you post comments, send messages, or back campaigns), people can click your account name to see your profile. Here are some of the things that will be publicly viewable on your profile, or elsewhere on HelpACop:
- The account name, and the date it was created;
- Any information you choose to add to your profile (like a picture, bio, or your location);
- Campaigns you’ve backed (but not pledge amounts);
- Campaigns you’ve launched;
- Any comments you’ve posted on HelpACop; and
- If you have “Liked” a campaign update.
Please note that each campaign page lists the community of users who have backed the campaign. If you don’t want others to see your name or profile image on a campaign’s Community tab, choose an account image or name that is not identifiable (e.g., CatLuvr02).
Creators are also asked to verify their identities before launching a campaign. Once this has been done, the creator’s Verified Name will be publicly displayed on their account profile and on any campaigns they launch.
Information that isn’t shared publicly
The following data will not be publicly displayed or revealed to other users:
- Any payment information you provide;
- Your password details;
- Your IP address;
- Your phone number; and
- Communications you send to us (for example, when you ask for support, send us questions or comments, or report a problem).
We never post anything to your Facebook, Twitter, or other third-party accounts without your permission. We do not and will not sell your data.
Information that’s shared with trusted third-party services
We may share your information with certain trusted third-party services to help us provide, improve, promote, or protect HelpACop’s Services (like when we partner with payment processors, or use services that help us manage our ads on other sites). When we share data with third-party services that support our delivery of the HelpACop Services, we require that they use your information only for the purposes we’ve authorized, and that they protect your personal information at least to the same standards we do. We may also share information that’s aggregated and anonymized in a way that it doesn’t directly identify you.
Information that’s shared with creators & collaborators
When you back a campaign, the campaign’s creator will know your account name and the amount you have pledged. Creators never receive backers’ credit card details or other payment information.
Once you back a campaign, the creator will have immediate access to the funds and will receive the email address associated with your HelpACop account. They may also send you a survey requesting information needed to send you a thank you card. (For instance, they may need your mailing address. Any information you provide in such surveys will be received by the creator.
Creators may also receive anonymized information about the ways people visit and interact with their project pages, in the form of routine traffic analytics. You can choose not to be included in Google Analytics here.
Information that’s shared to protect HelpACop & comply with the law
We do reserve the right to disclose personal information when we believe that doing so is reasonably necessary to comply with the law or law enforcement, to prevent fraud or abuse, or to protect HelpACop’s legal rights.
We want to communicate with you only if you want to hear from us. We try to keep emails to a minimum and give you the ability to opt out of any marketing communications we send.
We will send you email relating to your transactions on HelpACop. You will also receive certain marketing email communications, in accordance with your preferences, and from which you may opt out at any time.
We’ll also send you service-related announcements when it’s necessary to do so.
Access to Your Information
To modify or delete the personal information you’ve provided to us, please log in and update your profile. We may retain certain information as required by law or for necessary business purposes.
On request, we will give you a copy of all the personal information about you that we hold. This information is subject to a fee not exceeding the prescribed fee permitted by law.
Wrap-up
People under 18 (or the legal age in your jurisdiction) are not permitted to use HelpACop on their own, and so this privacy policy makes no provision for their use of the site.
Information that you submit through the Services may be transferred to countries other than where you reside (for example, to our servers in the United States). We will protect all information we receive in accordance with this Privacy Policy.