Privacy policy

Our privacy commitment

Elated INC. ("Elated," "we," "us" or "our") is committed to respecting the privacy rights and concerns of all users of Elated's website where this Privacy Policy is posted (the "Site"), the mobile application (the "App") and the services made available by Elated (collectively with the Site and the App, the "Service"). As such, we have established and implemented this Privacy Policy to inform visitors to the Site and users of the Service how we use and protect the information we collect through the Service. By accessing the Site or using any of the Service, you consent to Elated's collection, use, storage, deletion, and disclosure of information relating to you as set forth in this Privacy Policy. This Privacy Policy is effective as of the date set forth above and is only applicable to the Service and not to any other website that you may be able to access from the Service which may have its own data collection and use practices and policies.

This policy answers the following questions:

• What information do we collect about you and how do we use it?
• Will we share your personal information with third parties?
• What choices do you have about the collection and use of your personal information?
• What security measures do we take to safeguard your personal information?
• What information do we collect about you and how do we use it?

Types of Information We Collect

Personal information means information that can be used to identify and contact you, you may be required to submit personal information to access certain aspects of the Service. We may collect non-personal information such as your browser type when you accessed the Service and from what physical location you accessed the Service. This information may be aggregated to measure the number of visits, average time spent, page views, and other statistics about users of the Service. We also may use this data to monitor the Service's performance and to make the Service easier and more convenient to use. If you contact our Customer Support team, we will receive your email address and may track your IP address as well as the information you send to us to help resolve your query. We will keep records of our communications with you, including any complaints that we receive from you about other Users (and from other Users about you). We recommend and encourage you (and all our members) to think carefully about the information you disclose about yourself. We also do not recommend that you put email addresses, URLs, instant messaging details, phone numbers, full names or addresses, credit card details, national identity numbers, drivers' license details, and other sensitive information on your profile that is open to abuse and misuse. Please be careful about posting sensitive details about yourself on your profile such as your religious denomination and health details. You may also choose to add sensitive information about yourself when you create your bios, such as your religion and political leanings. While you may voluntarily provide this information to us when you create your profile, including your sexual preferences, there is no requirement to do so. Please remember that photographs that you post on Elated may reveal information about yourself as well. Where you do upload and choose to tell us sensitive information about yourself, you are explicitly consenting to our processing of your information and making this public to other users.

We collect personal information when you create an account through the Service; subscribe to our newsletter; participate in registration forms, feedback forms, or surveys; purchase a product through the Service; receive customer or technical support, or participate in components of the Service through which users may post content.

To create an account through the Service, we require you to provide certain information, including your name, email address, username, password, gender identity, age, date of birth, sexual preference, profile photos, location. Login information and friend lists for social media accounts that you connect to your Elated Account (this could include, for example, your Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram accounts (“Social Media Accounts”) Providing additional information beyond what is required to create an account, including your profession, ethnicity, political affiliation, education, income level or hobbies and interests is optional but enables you to more fully utilize the Service. Your contact information will only be made available to other users as authorized by you in connection with listings posted through the Service that you post or to which you respond.

When purchasing services through the Service, you will also be required to provide a credit card number, billing address, phone number, or other payment information. No information of this type will be collected unless you have registered for aspects of the Service that require it.

We also offer features of the Site that allow you to link your account to Facebook. If you sign up for one of those features, we may also collect personal information from these services.

By submitting personal information through the Site, you authorize Elated to share this personal information for the purposes identified herein and on the Site, such as responding to user inquiries, processing transactions, distributing materials, and requesting feedback.

Third-Party Privacy Policies

Through the Service, you may be able to link to technology, software and services owned and controlled by third parties ("Third Party Features"). You may be permitted or required to submit personal information to access Third Party Features. Such use of Third Party Features and submission of information through Third Party Features will be subject to such applicable third party's terms of use, terms of service, and privacy policy. You agree to look solely to the applicable third party and not to Elated to enforce your rights in relation thereto. When you have clicked on a third party logo or URL displayed on the Site or the App, or accessible through the Service, which links you to any Third Party Features, our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use no longer applies and you must read the terms of use, terms of service and privacy policy of the third party to see how your personal information will be handled on their website.

How We Use Your Personal Information

The personal information you provide to us will allow us to communicate with you and provide the Service to you, depending on the aspects of the Service for which you register. This includes alerting you of new products, services, features, or enhancements to the Service; verifying your identity; handling your customer service questions or issues; processing orders; requesting feedback; distributing newsletters; notifying you of daily matches, SparkFlirt invites, game turns, or new chats; and administering contests, promotions or surveys. We may also use your email address as part of the Service in sending you messages about the Service and other general announcements. We keep track of your interactions with us, including but not limited to your activity within the Service. Except as set forth in this Privacy Policy, or unless we have your consent, we will not share your personal information with any person or entity other than those affiliated with us, entities acting on our behalf, and relevant third parties such as those needed to collect and maintain our servers and perform technology and related services.

For safety and security and to ensure you have the best possible user experience, we require users to verify their accounts and might ask for your phone number. We want to make sure you are not a robot! And we also want to avoid fake Elated accounts being created which can be used for malicious activities and cybercrime. We use a third-party provider for account verification who will keep your phone number for up to 90 days for fraud identification purposes. We collect and use your phone number on the basis of our legitimate interests for the prevention of fraud.

It is your responsibility to ensure that your account details are kept up to date. If your phone number changes, please ensure that you update this in your account.

To prevent abuse of the app/site, Elated uses automated decisions to block accounts as part of its moderation procedures. In order to do this, we check accounts and messages for content that indicates breaches of our Terms and Conditions of Use. This is done through automated systems. If an account or message meets certain criteria that demonstrate that the Terms and Conditions of Use are likely to have been breached, the relevant account will automatically be blocked. All users of accounts that have been blocked will be notified that their account has been blocked and affected users can contact Elated to contest the decision..

Elated also uses automated decisions to prevent fraudulent payment transactions from being processed as part of its anti-fraud procedures. In order to do this, our systems check payment transactions for behavior that indicates breaches of our Terms and Conditions of Use. If a transaction meets certain criteria that demonstrate that the Terms and Conditions of Use are likely to have been breached and the transaction is likely to be fraudulent, the relevant transaction may automatically be blocked. Where a transaction is blocked, the user will be notified that their transaction cannot be processed and affected users can contact Elated to contest the decision.

When you purchase SparkFlirt, we will process your payment information and retain this securely for the prevention of fraud and for audit/tax purposes.

We process some limited data (demographics and information that you have optionally provided us on your Elated profile) to drive targeted advertising in our legitimate interest, ads on our App. We also process limited data (device identifiers) and share this with third-party advertising networks which host our ads. You can stop targeted advertising within the “Contact” page accessible via your profile. If you opt-out of targeted advertising you will still see adverts though they will be less relevant to you. Through your device’s security settings you also have the option to prevent or limit device identifiers being shared with third-party advertisers and what use is made of the device identifiers.

For users who are California residents, the data we may collect falls within the following categories of “personal information,” as defined by the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA):

• Identifiers, such as name and location;
• Personal information, as defined in the California customer records law, such as contact (including email and telephone number) and financial information;
• Characteristics of protected classifications under California or federal law (if you choose to provide them), such as age, gender identity, marital status, sexual orientation, race, ancestry, national origin, religion, and medical conditions;
• Commercial information, such as transaction information and purchase history;
• Biometric information (not relevant here);
• Internet or network activity information, such as browsing history and interactions with our websites and apps;
• Geolocation data, such as mobile device location;
• Audio, electronic, visual, and similar information, such as photos and videos;
• Professional or employment-related information, such as work history and prior employer;
• Non-public education information; and
• Inferences are drawn from any of the personal information listed above to create a profile or summary about, for example, an individual’s preferences and characteristics.

Data Storage

By using the App, you acknowledge that Elated is a global app operating through servers located in a number of countries around the world, including the United States. If you live in a country with data protection laws, the storage of your personal data may not provide you with the same protections as you enjoy in your country of residence.

Geolocation Information

If you turn these features on, when you use your mobile, we will collect information about WiFi access points as well as other location information about your longitude and latitude and may save your device's coordinates to offer certain features to you. This information helps us identify your physical location and we may use it to personalize the App and make it easier for you to interact with other Users, by enabling the information to be displayed and shared with other members choosing to view “nearby”.

If you have enabled location services, but wish to turn them off, you can do so by the following methods:

• iPhone app — settings, privacy, location services, Elated, select “never”.
• Android — settings, location, Elated, permissions, location, select “off”.

Log and Usage Data

We keep your personal information only as long as we need it for legitimate business purposes and as permitted by applicable law.

In practice, we delete or anonymize your information upon deletion of your account (following the safety retention window), unless:

• we must keep it to comply with applicable law (for instance, some “traffic data” is kept for one year to comply with statutory data retention obligations);
• we must keep it to evidence our compliance with applicable law (for instance, records of consents to our Terms, Privacy Policy, and other similar consents are kept for five years);
• there is an outstanding issue, claim or dispute requiring us to keep the relevant information until it is resolved; or
• the information must be kept for our legitimate business interests, such as fraud prevention and enhancing users' safety and security. For example, information may need to be kept to prevent a user who was banned for unsafe behavior or security incidents from opening a new Elated account.

Device Information

We may collect information about your device when you use the App including the unique device identifier, device model, operating system, and MAC address. In addition, if you permit us to do so, the App may access your device's address book solely in order to add someone to your contacts.

Links

We may keep track of how you interact with links available on Elated including third-party services and clients by redirecting clicks or through other means. We may share aggregate click statistics such as how many times a particular link was clicked on.

We may use your personal information with non-personal information that we have collected in a manner such that the end-product does not personally identify you or any other user of the Service. We may make your personal information non-personally identifiable by either combining it with information about other users (aggregating your personal information with information about other users), or by removing characteristics (such as your name or email address) that make the information personal identifiable. This process is known as de-personalizing your information. You grant us a royalty-free, worldwide, perpetual, irrevocable, and fully transferable right and license to use your personal information in connection with the creation and development of analytical and statistical analysis tools relating to the use of the customer data we collect in providing the Service (the "Analytical Data"). We are expressly authorized to make any commercial use of the Analytical Data, including without limitation, sharing the Analytical Data with third parties, provided that we do not sell, trade, or otherwise transfer from us any part of the Analytical Data that personally identifies any Service users.

Do Not Track

In compliance with California legislation, AB370, effective January 1, 2014, Elated's practices in responding to "do not track" signals and collecting user information over time and across a network of websites when you visit the Site are as follows: We honor the request of "do not track" signals sent by your browser when you visit the Site. Additionally, Elated does not collect user information about your online activities over time and across different websites or authorize third parties to do so.

Google Analytics

Elated uses Google Analytics to help us learn about who visits the Site and what pages are being viewed.

Cookies

"Cookies" are small bits of electronic information that a website sends to a visitor's browser and are stored on the visitor's hard drive. Like many websites, we employ cookies in certain areas of the Site to allow us to provide information to make your online experience more convenient. For example, when you return to the Site after logging in, cookies provide information to the Site so that the Site will remember who you are on subsequent visits, speeding up or enhancing your experience of the Service by, for instance, tailoring content to you. Cookies may also be used to keep track of your login name and password. While Elated may use cookies to track your visit to the Site, this information does not identify you personally and you remain anonymous, even if you have previously submitted personal information to Elated through the Site or otherwise. You may still access the Service if you set your browser not to accept cookies.

Third parties whose websites are accessible through links on the Site may also use their own cookies when you link to their site or service. Elated does not control these third parties' use of cookies and cannot guarantee that they will uphold the same privacy standards as Elated. Elated expressly disclaims any and all liability related to the collection, use or disclosure of information by third parties. You should review the privacy policies of any third-party sites that you visit through a link from the Site to understand how these third parties use cookies and the information they collect through cookies. Most cookies are "session cookies" which means that they are automatically deleted at the end of each session. Most browsers are initially set to accept cookies. You can set your browser to notify you when you receive a cookie, giving you a chance to decide whether or not to accept it.

Log Information

Our servers automatically record information that your browser sends whenever you visit the Site. This information includes your Internet Protocol address, your browser type and version, the search engine you used to find the Service, if any, which aspects of the Service you use and from where, and when and how long you use them. We use this information to monitor and analyze how users use the Service, to provide customer service, and to maintain and improve the Service. We may also collect similar information from emails we may send to you which then help us track which emails are opened and which links are clicked by recipients. The information allows for more accurate reporting and improvement of the Service.

Children's Privacy

We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13, or allow them to create an account for the Service. We take children's privacy seriously and encourage parents to play an active role in their children's online experience at all times.

Will we share your personal information with third parties?

Sharing Your Information

We use your personal information to provide the Service to you, deliver products and services you request, complete transactions, handle your customer service questions or issues and send communications to you about promotions, updates, or special offers from Elated that may be of interest to you. The personal information uploaded by you through the Service will be shared only with authorized persons to whom you specifically grant access. We may also use your depersonalized personal information to provide analyses of our users in the aggregate (including Analytical Data subject to the terms of this Privacy Policy) to prospective partners and other third parties. We will also share the personal information we collect from you under the following circumstances, and you expressly authorize us to share your information as follows:

• Protection of rights. We will share personal information if we have a good faith belief that (i) access, use, preservation or disclosure of such information is reasonably necessary to satisfy any applicable law, regulation, legal process, such as a court order or subpoena, or a request by law enforcement or governmental authorities, (ii) such action is appropriate to enforce our Terms of Use for the Service, including any investigation of potential violations thereof, (iii) such action is necessary to detect, prevent, or otherwise address fraud, security or technical issues associated with the Service, or (iv) such action is appropriate to protect the rights, property or safety of Elated, its employees, users of the Service or others.
• Asset transfers. If we become involved in a merger, acquisition or other transaction involving the sale of some or all of Elated's assets, user information, including personal information collected from you through your use of the Service, could be included in the transferred assets. Should such an event occur, we will use reasonable means to notify you through email and/or a prominent notice on the Site and/or the App.
• Service Providers. We may share your personal information with service providers (including our affiliates that provide services on our behalf) that we engage for the purpose of processing information on our and your behalf. Additionally, we may partner with other companies to process, analyze, and/or store data, including, but not limited to, Analytical Data. While providing services for us, these companies may access your personal information. To the extent applicable, we require these entities to comply with this Privacy Policy and appropriate confidentiality and security measures.

Additional Information You Should Know About Third Parties

The Service may contain direct links to websites operated by our partners and other entities. These third-party websites may collect information about you when you visit them or otherwise communicate with them. This Privacy Policy does not cover the information practices of third-party websites linked to the Site or accessible through the Service. Although we encourage such third parties to adopt and follow their own privacy policies, we are not responsible for their collection and use of your personal information. You should refer to the privacy policies and statements of other websites or contact the respective webmasters of those websites to obtain information regarding their information collection, use, and disclosure policies.

What choices do you have about the collection and use of your personal information?

Control of Your Information

You may update or delete your personal information or modify your account preferences for the Service by accessing the account interface provided through the Service. Please note that if you disable your account, we will keep your contact information on file, and may retain other account information for a reasonable period of time afterward for the purpose of internal account management and fraud prevention.

Opting Out of Receiving Communications From Us

If you no longer want to receive our newsletter, emails or other announcements, you may unsubscribe by writing to us at info@elated.io or following the "unsubscribe" link at the bottom of our emails. Please note that you cannot unsubscribe from certain correspondence from us, including messages relating directly to your account.

Mediation

You agree that, in the event, any dispute or claim arises out of or relating to this Privacy Policy, you and Elated will attempt in good faith to negotiate a written resolution of the matter directly between the parties. You agree that if the matter remains unresolved for forty-five (45) days after notification (via certified mail or personal delivery) that a dispute exists, all parties shall join in mediation services in Los Angeles, California with a mutually agreed mediator in an attempt to resolve the dispute. Should you file any arbitration claims, or any administrative or legal actions without first having attempted to resolve the matter by mediation, then you agree that you will not be entitled to recover attorneys' fees, even if you would otherwise be entitled to them.

What security measures do we take to safeguard your personal information?

The personal information that you provide to us is stored on servers which are protected by protocols and procedures designed to ensure the security of such information. We restrict access to personal information to Elated employees, independent contractors, and agents who need to know this information in order to develop, operate and maintain the Service. All Elated personnel who have access to this information are trained in the maintenance and security of such information. However, no server, computer or communications network or system, or data transmission over the Internet can be guaranteed to be 100% secure. As a result, while we strive to protect user information, we cannot ensure or warrant the security of any information you transmit to us or through the use of the Service and you acknowledge and agree that you provide such information and engage in such transmissions at your own risk. Once we receive a transmission from you, we will endeavor to maintain its security on our systems.

In the event that the personal information you provide to us is compromised as a result of a breach of security when appropriate we will take reasonable steps to investigate the situation, notify you and take the necessary steps to comply with any applicable laws and regulations.

Notification of Changes

This Privacy Policy may change from time to time and we will post all changes on the Site and/or the App.

Questions? Contact Us

If you have any questions about our privacy practices or this Privacy Policy, please contact us by email at info@elated.io