Privacy Policy

Purpose

Welcome to our Privacy Policy! Makua, Inc. and its affiliates (“Makua,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) have adopted this Privacy Policy to let you know how we treat the information that we collect from you, the kinds of information we may collect, how that information is used, with whom we share it and how you can opt-out of a use or correct or change such information. Where permitted, by engaging with our Website or Mobile App, you accept and consent to the practices described in this notice, which may be updated from time to time. Therefore, please check this Privacy Policy periodically for updates.

This Privacy Policy supplements and forms a part of the Terms of Use (the “Terms”).

Scope

This Privacy Policy applies to all information collected and/or processed by Makua, Inc. as a result of your interaction(s) with us on www.makua.com (the “Website”), via email, chat, telephone, video calls, social media, blogs, and/or other forums or offerings or when you interact with the Makua mobile app (the “App”)

This Privacy Policy does not apply to Personal Information we collect about our business partners, employees, applicants for employment, or contractors in the employment context.

What Information We Collect

We collect several types of information about our current and prospective customers, members, users, visitors, and guests (collectively, “Individuals”), directly from Individuals as well as from third-party sources. This includes:

Personal information that we could reasonably use to directly or indirectly identify an Individual, such as a name, mailing address, email, telephone number, or other similar identifiers (“Personal Information”).
Non-personal information that does not directly or indirectly reveal an Individual’s identity or directly relate to an identified Individual, such as de-identified and aggregated information (“Non-Personal Information”).
Statistical or aggregated information that does not identify a specific person, but we may derive non-personal statistical or aggregated data from Personal Information. For example, we may aggregate non-personal information to calculate the percentage of users accessing a specific App feature.
Technical information, including the Internet protocol (IP) address used to connect your computer to the Internet, your Makua account login information, browser type and version, device information, local time, or operating system and platform.
Non-personal details about an Individual’s interactions with the Website or app, including nonprofits you viewed; pages for which you searched; page response times; download errors; length of visits to certain pages; button clicks; or methods used to browse away from the page.

If we combine or connect non-personal information with Personal Information so that it directly or indirectly identifies an Individual, we treat the combined information as Personal Information. We acknowledge that personal information such as age, gender etc. is considered as sensitive data. Rest assured that we will never gather any information, including special types of data, without your explicit consent.

Anonymized Information.

We may use Personal Information and other information about you to create anonymized information and aggregate anonymized information. Examples of anonymized information include de-identified demographic information, de-identified location information, information about the computer or mobile device from which you access our Services or other analyses we create. Anonymized information is not Personal Information.

We may use anonymized and aggregated information for various functions, including research, internal analysis, analytics, and other legally permissible purposes. We may share this information within Makua and with third parties in an anonymized or aggregated form that is designed to prevent anyone from identifying you.

Types of Personal Information We Collect

We generally collect the types of Personal Information listed below.

Examples of information we may collect if you visit our website or use our app:

Technical and geolocation information, such as IP address, device type, and other device identifiers that are automatically assigned to your computer or mobile device when you access the Internet, browser type and language, operating system, referral URL, the date and time you used the Services, the amount of time you spend on each page, page views and site interactions, and location of your device.

Examples of information we may collect if you set-up a Makua account, join our mailing list, communicate with us, or make a donation:

Identifiers, such as your name, email address, billing address, and phone number.
Geolocation information, such as city, county, and zip code.
Financial information, such as credit card and billing information if you make a donation (collected and processed by our third-party processor).
Commercial information, such as your entry history or donation history.
Other information you voluntarily provide to us on a public-facing portion of our site or in a communication to us.

Examples of information we may collect if you participate in a survey:

Demographic or other information that you submit voluntarily (such as your age, gender, education, and income).

How We Collect Information About You

The sources of the Personal Information we collect above include Personal Information that you directly provide to us (for example, on our Website or while interacting with our app), Personal Information that we gather from the devices you use to access our Services (for example, our Website or App), and Personal Information that we generate internally (for example, we may create identifiers internally that we associate with you).

Information You Provide Directly to Us.

When you use our Services, contact us directly, or engage in other activities we may ask for, and you may provide us with information about you (either directly to us or to third-parties acting on our behalf). This includes Personal Information you may provide when you make a donation, create an account, join our mailing list, communicate with us via email, telephone, or chat, interact with us on social media, participate in surveys or research, provide testimonials or reviews, search or report a problem with our Website or app.

If you post, publish or otherwise share content, or submit content for sharing, on a public forum (e.g., on our blogs, social media pages, product review pages, in the community, etc.), including via interaction with our Services or any third-party platform, such content is “public” and not be subject to the privacy protections provided in this Privacy Policy.

You share and/or submit content for public consumption at your own risk. Even if you set specific privacy settings for such public forums, please be aware that no security measures are perfect or impenetrable. We cannot control the actions of any Website users or other third-parties. Therefore, we do not guarantee that unauthorized persons will not view the content that you may share or submit for publication on such public forums. Even if you delete the content, copies may remain viewable in cached and archived pages or might have been created or stored by others.

Automated Technologies or Interactions**.**

As you interact with our Services, we may automatically collect location-based information and technical information about your equipment, browsing actions, and Website interactions as specified above. We collect this information by using cookies and pixels (see “Cookies and Automated Data Collection Technologies”).

Information from Third-Parties or Publicly Available Sources.

We may also receive information about you from other sources, including through third-party services and organizations. This includes Personal Information from third-party sign-ins, such as Facebook connect, Google, and payment partners, such as Stripe, advertising networks, analytics providers, or search information providers. In addition, for users who claim free gifts, we may collect Personal Information, such as shipping address.

How We Use Personal Information

We may use your personal information to operate and improve the app and site, to process your transactions, to provide customer service, to perform analysis aimed at improving the Services, to provide you with materials about non-profit partners and to display content that is customized to your preferences.

Some examples include:

Present our Website and App and respond to your inquiries, including to investigate and address your concerns and monitor and improve our responses.
Fulfill the purposes or the reason for which you provided the Information or that were described when it was collected, including through third-party payment processing.
Create, maintain, customize, and secure your account with us.
Process your requests, purchases, transactions, and payments, and provide related products or services or prevent transactional fraud.
Notify you about changes to our Website, App, products, or Services.
Provide, support, personalize, and develop our Website, App, products, and Services.
Provide and personalize our marketing messages to you and measure the effectiveness of those marketing messages.
Testing, research, analysis, and product development, including developing and improve our Website, App, products, and Services.
In any other way we may describe when you provide the information.
For other legitimate interests, such as fraud protection or compliance with legal obligations.

When We May Share Your Personal Information

We may share your personal information within our corporate group, including with our subsidiaries and divisions and with Makua Partners, a 501(c)(3) public charity affiliated with us, all of whom may use your information for the purposes disclosed herein. We may disclose Personal Information that we collect or that you provide as described in this Privacy Policy (e.g., with our third-party service providers; to comply with legal obligations; to enhance the Services; to protect and defend our rights and property) or with your permission. This includes disclosures:

To service providers, contractors, and other third parties we use to support our business, for at least the following business purposes: Performing services or servicing accounts; Serving advertising and marketing on our behalf; Maintaining or improving the quality of products or services we offer; and Detecting security incidents, protecting against malicious activity, and prosecuting those responsible. Our policy is only to make these business purpose disclosures to third-parties pursuant to written contracts specifying the purposes, requiring the recipient to keep the personal information disclosed confidential, and prohibiting the use of the disclosed information for any purpose except under the contract.
To fulfill the purpose for which you provide it.
For any other purpose disclosed by us when you provide the information.
With nonprofit organizations you donate to with your consent.
To comply with any court order, law, or legal process, including responding to any government or regulatory request.
To enforce or apply any agreements between Makua and you, if applicable.
As we believe necessary to protect the rights, property, or safety of Makua, our users, partners, or others.

We do not sell your personal information.

Cookies and Automatic Data Collection Technologies

We, as well as third parties that provide content, advertising, or other functionality on our Services, may use automatic data collection technologies (e.g., cookies, pixel tags/web beacons, social media widgets, local storage, etc.) to collect information about you, your equipment, browsing actions, and Website and App interactions. Similarly, if you sign up for our text messaging program, cookies may be used to personalize your experience (e.g., send you personalized text messages such as monthly donation reminders). We use technologies that are essentially small data files placed on your computer, tablet, mobile phone, or other devices that allow us to record certain pieces of information whenever you visit or interact with our Website, App, Services, applications, messaging, and tools, and to recognize you across devices. We also may use these technologies to collect information about your online activities over time. For more information about your options, see Section 8 (“Your Rights and Choices”).

The information we collect automatically may include Personal Information, or we may maintain it or associate it with Personal Information we collect in other ways or receive from third parties. It helps us to improve our Website and App to deliver better and more personalized Services, including by enabling us to:

Estimate our audience size and usage patterns.
Store information about your preferences, allowing us to customize your experience according to your interests.
Speed up your searches.
Recognize you when you return to our Website or App.

The technologies we use for this automatic data collection may include:

Cookies (or browser cookies). A cookie is a small file placed on the hard drive of your computer. Where available, you may refuse to accept certain cookies by adjusting the settings in our Cookie Preference Center. You may also refuse to accept browser cookies by activating the appropriate setting on your browser. However, if you select this setting, you may be unable to access certain parts of our Website. Where applicable, unless you have adjusted your settings, our system will issue cookies when you direct your browser to our Website.
Pixel Tags. Pages of the Website and our emails may contain small electronic files known as pixels (also referred to as clear gifs, pixel tags, and single-pixel gifs) that permit us, for example, to count users who have visited those pages or opened an email and for other related website statistics (for example, recording the popularity of certain website content and verifying system and server integrity). For example, we use Google Analytics to measure and analyze our site traffic. Where available, you may refuse to accept certain beacons by adjusting the settings in our Cookie Preference Center.
In App tracking. When using our mobile app, user activity within the app is measured and recorded to improve user experience.

Data Hosting and Storage

Heroku Hosting: We utilize Heroku, a cloud platform, as our back office for hosting and storing user data. Heroku is committed to maintaining a high level of security and data protection. Any user data stored on Heroku is encrypted and kept secure according to their security protocols. For more information on Heroku's security and data protection practices, please visit Heroku's Security Practices.

When you sign up or use our app, your primary Account information is uploaded and stored securely on our backend hosted by Heroku at https://makua.herokuapp.com. We ensure that your data is processed and stored securely, and we only use it for purposes related to the functionality of our app.

Your Rights and Choices

Makua understands that your Personal Information is important to you. Therefore, we strive to provide you with choices regarding the Personal Information you provide to us. We have created mechanisms to provide you with the following control over your information:

Tracking Technologies and Advertising

You can set your browser to refuse all or some browser cookies or alert you when cookies are being sent. If you disable or refuse cookies, please note that some parts of this site may then be inaccessible or not function properly. Learn how to manage the cookies in your browser below:

Chrome (desktop) (mobile)
Safari (desktop) (mobile)
Internet Explorer (desktop) (mobile)
Firefox (desktop) (Android)
Android Browser: Click on the top right corner of the app (labeled with “More” or three dots) -> Settings -> Privacy

To be clear, these cookie-based opt-outs must be performed on each device and browser that you wish to have opted-out. For example, if you have opted-out on your computer browser, that opt-out will not be effective on your mobile device. You must separately opt-out on each device.

You may be able to opt-out of receiving certain personalized advertisements from companies who are members of the Network Advertising Initiative or who subscribe to the Digital Advertising Alliance’s Self-Regulatory Principles for Online Behavioral Advertising. Please visit the Network Advertising Initiative Consumer Opt-Out Page or the Digital Advertising Alliance Opt-Out Page to opt-out directly from providers who participate in those programs. You may also be able to adjust your settings regarding personalized advertisements by adjusting the privacy settings in the applications and/or social media platforms you use. Please note that Makua does not control or operate these tools or the choices that advertisers and others provide through these tools.

Marketing and Email

Makua respects the rights of our users who receive our communications and enforces internal policies to preserve those rights. While we value our communications with you, if you do not want Makua or Makua’s representatives to contact you for marketing purposes, you may opt-out of this preference at any time by sending us an email stating your request to hello@makua.com with the subject - Privacy. In addition, if we have sent you a promotional email, you may click the unsubscribe link included in the email.

Opting Not to Register or Provide Personal Information

From time to time, our website may contain links to and from the websites of our partner networks, advertisers, and affiliates or include plug-ins enabling third-party features. If you follow a link to any third-party website or engage a third-party plug-in, please note that these third parties have their own privacy policies. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for these policies. Please check these policies before you submit any personal data to these third parties.

California residents may have additional personal information rights and choices. Please see Section (“California Privacy Notice”) for more information.

Users From Outside the United States

This Website is hosted in the United States and is governed by US law. Accordingly, if you access the Website from the European Economic Area or any other regions with laws governing personal data collection and use, please note that your Personal Information will be processed in the United States and elsewhere outside the European Economic Area.

Personal Information collected by Makua may be transferred, Processed, and stored anywhere in the world, including but not limited to, the United States, Canada, the European Economic Area, in the cloud, on our servers, on the servers of our affiliates, or on the servers of our service providers. Your Personal Information may be accessible to law enforcement or other authorities as described above.

Children’s Privacy

Our Services are not directed to children under the age of 16. In addition, you are not permitted to use our Services if you are under the age of 16. We do not knowingly collect or sell Personal Information from children under the age of 16. If you are under 16, do not use or provide any information on this Website or through any of its features. If you learn that your child has provided us with Personal Information without your consent, you may alert us at hello@makua.com If we learn that we have collected the Personal Information of a child under the age of 16, we will take steps to delete such information from our files as soon as possible.

Data Retention and Security

Makua retains the Personal Information we receive as described in this Privacy Policy for as long as you use our Services, as necessary to fulfill the purpose(s) for which the Personal Information was collected, to provide our Services, to resolve disputes, to establish legal defenses, to conduct audits, to pursue legitimate business purposes, to enforce our agreements, and to comply with applicable laws. Unless we are otherwise required by law to retain specific information, once we no longer need to retain your Personal Information for the purposes described above, we will destroy, erase, or de-identify it per our data retention policies and applicable law. Legal requirements, however, may require us to retain some or all of the Personal Information we hold for a period of time that is longer than that for which we might otherwise hold it.

The security of your Personal Information is very important to us. Makua uses physical, electronic, and administrative safeguards designed to protect your Personal Information from loss, misuse, and unauthorized access, use, alteration, or disclosure.

The safety and security of your Personal Information also depends on you. Where we have given you (or where you have chosen) a password for access to certain parts of the Website or App, you are responsible for keeping this password confidential. Do not share your password.

By using the Services or providing Personal Information to us, you agree that we may communicate with you electronically regarding security, privacy, and administrative issues.

Makua’s Privacy Team Contact Information

If you have any questions about our privacy practices, this Privacy Policy, or how to submit a complaint with the appropriate authority, please contact Makua by email at hello@makua.com

Changes to Our Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy may change from time to time. We may revise this Privacy Policy at our sole discretion, so please review it periodically. If you continue to visit the Website and use the Services after such changes have been made, you thereby provide your consent to the changes.

You understand and agree that you will be deemed to have accepted the updated Privacy Policy if you use the Website and Services after the revised Privacy Policy is posted (as reflected in the above Effective Date). Accordingly, if you do not agree to any portion of the Privacy Policy, you must immediately stop using the Website and Services.

If you need to access this Policy in an alternative format due to having a disability, please contact hello@makua.com

California Privacy Notice California law requires us to disclose certain information related to our privacy practices. The information in this section supplements the information found elsewhere in this Privacy Policy in order to meet our disclosure requirements under California law.

This California Privacy Notice is not intended to apply to Personal Information we collect about our business partners, employees, applicants for employment, or contractors in the employment context.

Personal Information We Collect

As used in this California Privacy Notice Section only, “Personal Information” refers to “information that identifies, relates to, describes, is capable of being associated with, or could reasonably be linked, directly or indirectly, with a particular consumer or household.”

Section (“What Personal Information We Collect”) above, describes the categories Personal Information we collect. Specifically, in the last 12 months we have collected data in the following categories established by the California Consumer Privacy Act:

Identifiers, such as name, email address, billing address, and phone number.
Personal information, such as credit card number and billing information.
Age, gender, or other protected classifications under California or federal law, if you won an Experience or provided that information when you participated in a survey.
Commercial information, such as donation history.
Internet or other electronic network activity, such as page views and site interactions, device information, browser information, operating system information, referral information.
Geolocation information, such as city, county, zip code, IP address, and location of your device.
Inference data, such as information about your donation preferences.

How We Use Your Personal Information

This Privacy Policy describes our uses of Personal Information in the section titled (“How We Use Personal Information”).

What Personal Information We Share

California law requires that we also list the categories of Personal Information that we have disclosed to third parties for business purposes in the last 12 months. In the prior 12 months, we have collected or disclosed all of the categories of Personal Information we describe in Section (“What Personal Information We Collect”) as described in Section (“When We May Share Your Personal Information”) for the various business purposes, as described in Section (“How We Use Personal Information”).

California residents have the right to opt-out of disclosures of Personal Information to third parties for valuable consideration (which may be considered “sales” under California law even if no money is exchanged). We currently do not sell your information for any monetary consideration. To Opt out, please contact us at hello@makua.com

Your Rights in California

As a resident of California, you have certain rights, such as those bulleted below. You may freely exercise these rights without fear of being denied goods or services. We may, however, provide a different level of service or charge a different rate reasonably relating to the value of your personal information.

Right to data portability/access. You may be entitled to receive the specific pieces of personal information we have collected in the 12 months preceding your request, including, where applicable, in an electronic and readily usable format.
Right to know. You may be entitled to receive information regarding the categories of Personal Information we collected, the sources from which we collected Personal Information, the purposes for which we collected and shared Personal Information, the categories of Personal Information that we sold, and the categories of third-parties to whom the Personal Information was sold, and the categories of Personal Information that we disclosed for a business purpose in the 12 months preceding your request.
Right to deletion. You may be entitled to request that we delete the Personal Information that we have collected from you. We will use commercially reasonable efforts to honor your request in compliance with applicable laws. Please note, however, that we keep some or all such information, such as for our legitimate business purposes or as required to comply with applicable law.
Non-discrimination; Notice of Financial Incentive. Subject to some exceptions, California consumers have the right not to be discriminated against based on the consumer’s refusal to provide a business with Personal Information, and we never discriminate in any way against consumers who choose to exercise any of these rights. We may offer bonus entries or other benefits to consumers who participate in marketing promotions, and in order to participate in such programs, you may be asked to provide certain Personal Information (e.g., an email address or phone number), which is processed as otherwise stated in this Privacy Policy. Participation in any such program is entirely optional and you have a right to opt out at any time. Makua does not generally assign monetary value to any consumer’s Personal Information. To the extent the CCPA requires that we assign value to such a program, the value is reasonably related to the value of the offer presented to you (e.g., free gift), based on our reasonable but sole determination, considering the collection, storage and retention of your Personal Information and the expenses related to the provision of the program. From time to time, we may provide additional terms that apply to a particular program, which will be presented to you at the time you sign up. To opt out of any program, please utilize any method provided as part of that program or otherwise contact us at hello@makua.com
Do Not Sell. You have the right to opt-out of disclosures of Personal Information to third parties for valuable consideration (which may be considered “sales” under California law even if no money is exchanged). While we do not share your data in exchange for monetary consideration, Makua respects and understands that you may want to minimize the sharing of your information with third parties for marketing purposes. If you are a California resident and would like to reduce the sharing of information for marketing purposes, please fill out the form here: hello@makua.com
Shine the Light Law. Under California’s “Shine the Light” law, California residents who share personal information with us have the right to request and obtain from us once per year, free of charge, a list of the third parties to whom we have disclosed their Personal Information (if any) for direct marketing purposes in the prior calendar year, as well as the type of Personal Information disclosed to those parties. If you would like to exercise this right, please use the contact information listed in this section to contact us.

Exercising Your Rights to Access or Delete

If you are a California or European resident and would like to exercise your right to delete, or access, please contact us at hello@makua.com or complete the DSAR form here.

If you would like to submit a formal request for information or deletion please complete the data subject access form here.

Only you, or someone legally authorized to act on your behalf, may make a request to know or delete related to your Personal Information. You or your authorized agent may only submit a request to know twice within 12 months. Your request must provide sufficient detail that allows us to understand, evaluate, and respond to it appropriately.

California law requires us to verify the requests we receive from you when you exercise certain rights listed above. Accordingly, we (or third parties we engage to assist us) may ask you to provide certain information to us for us to verify your identity and request, including your name, email address, physical address, last Experience entered, and (depending on the type of request) a signed declaration (collectively, the “Verification Information”). We will only use the Verification Information to verify the requestor’s identity or authority to make it, except for record-keeping purposes. We will delete this information as soon as practicable after we meet those obligations.

You may also designate an authorized agent to exercise your rights on your behalf. If you have provided an authorized agent with a power of attorney under the California Probate Code, we will work directly with your authorized agent to complete your request. Where you have not provided an authorized agent with a power of attorney under the California Probate Code, we will reach out to you directly to confirm the authorized agent’s authority and collect the Verification Information.

European Privacy Notice & GDPR

In the unlikely event of a data breach, we are prepared to follow any laws and regulations which would require us to notify you of the disclosure of private information. If we become aware that your data has been unlawfully accessed by third parties, we will notify you at the earliest possible opportunity, and will also report the breach to the relevant authorities within 72 hours, as required under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

We use a variety of third-party service providers to help us provide services related to Makua. These service providers may have access to your personal information for the sole purpose of performing services on our behalf. We require that these third-party service providers protect your personal information in a manner consistent with our policies and procedures. Here are some of our service providers:

Analytics Service - Mixpanel: We use this service to monitor and analyze the use of our service, to increase our service's functionality and user-friendliness.

Email Notification Service - Onesignal & Mailchimp: We use this service to manage and send notifications, newsletters, and promotional materials to our users via email.

Hosting and Backend Infrastructure - AWS & Heroku: These service hosts and backs up all data associated with Makua.

We encourage you to review the privacy policies of these third-party service providers so you can understand how those companies collect, use, and share your information.

If you are a UK or European resident and would like to exercise your right to delete, or access, please contact us at hello@makua.com or complete the DSAR form here.

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