Privacy Policy

Changes to this Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of any changes by posting the updated policy on our website or through the App. Please review this policy periodically for any updates. If you continue to use Topicks after those changes are in effect, you agree to the new policy.

Information We Collect

Personal Information You Provide

When you join Topicks and interact with our services, we may collect personal information that you provide directly to us, such as:

• Your name, username, and email address
• Profile information including photos, comments and any other information you give us
• Information about your use of the App, such as your interactions, comments, and content you share
• Optional information such as gender preference, age range, postcode, interests and hobbies

Technical Information

Using the mobile application or website will mean certain electronic data will get logged automatically when you are using it. Analytics reports help us understand clearly how our users behave. Examples of data include:

• Number of users and sessions
• Session duration and operating systems
• IP address and language preferences
• Identifiers associated with cookies or other technologies that may identify your device
• Referring pages and device models
• Geography and first launches
• App opens, updates, and in-app purchases (if applicable)

Third-Party Information

From time to time, we may receive personal information about you from third party sources. The App uses third party services that have their own Terms and Conditions:

• Amazon Web Services - privacy policy at https://aws.amazon.com/privacy/
• Google Firebase - privacy policy at www.firebase.google.com
• Stripe - privacy policy at https://stripe.com/au/privacy

How We Use Information

We may use the information we collect from you for various purposes, including to provide and improve the App, personalise your experience, communicate with you, and analyze usage patterns. Specific uses include:

• Provide, maintain, and improve the Services
• Help protect the safety of our users, including blocking suspected spammers and addressing abuse
• Enforce the Terms of Use and Community guidelines
• Conduct business planning, reporting, and forecasting
• Research and develop new services
• Send you updates, security alerts, and other support messages
• Provide customer service
• Communicate about products, services, offers, and promotions
• Monitor and analyze trends, usage, and activities in connection with our Services
• Verify your identity and detect fraud
• Detect, prevent and address technical issues

How We Share Information

Much of the information on the Services is public and accessible to everyone. In some cases, we may also have a legal obligation to collect personal information from you, or may otherwise need the personal information to protect your vital interests or those of another person.

• We may share your information with third parties for specific purposes, such as with service providers who assist us in operating the App
• We may share information with your consent
• We do not sell your personal information to third parties
• Information may be shared to ensure appropriate security or to implement content warnings and content moderation

Push Notifications

We may send push notifications or alerts to your mobile device. You can deactivate these messages at any time by changing the notification settings on your mobile device or within the application.

Security of Information

We take reasonable measures to protect your information from unauthorized access or disclosure. However, no data transmission over the internet or electronic storage is completely secure. For this reason please be mindful of content shared.

Account Information Rights

You have the right to access, correct, or delete your personal information. If you create a Topicks account, your account will have a username, which you provide or which was randomly generated. Your username is public, and it does not have to be related to your real name.

When you use Topicks, you may provide other optional information such as interests, bio, gender, age, location, or profile picture. This information is optional and may be removed at any time through account settings.

Topicks reserves the right to remove/block/deactivate accounts and comments if information is in breach of terms and conditions of use or potential breach of laws.

Location Information

We may receive and process information about your location. We may receive location information from you when you choose to share such information on our Services, including by associating your content with a location, or we may derive an approximate location based on your IP address.

Use of Cookies

We use cookies (small files stored on your device) created both by us and third parties. Cookies allow us to:

• Measure traffic and visitor behaviour
• Understand the impact of our online advertising and social channels
• Use remarketing and audience targeting

The cookies identify your browser or device, not you personally. Examples of information we might collect include:

• The operating system and browser you are using
• The address of the referring site
• Your IP address and the date and time of your visit
• How you interacted with our site
• Demographic and interest reports including age, gender and location

Australian Privacy Principles (APP)

As an Australian company, Topicks complies with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs). The APPs regulate how we collect, use, disclose and store your personal information.

• Open and transparent management: We manage personal information in an open and transparent way
• Anonymity and pseudonymity: You have the option of not identifying yourself when dealing with us where practicable
• Collection of solicited information: We only collect personal information that is reasonably necessary for our functions
• Notification: We notify you about the collection of personal information
• Use and disclosure: We only use or disclose personal information for the primary purpose for which it was collected
• Data quality and security: We take reasonable steps to ensure personal information is accurate, complete, and secure
• Access and correction: You have the right to access and correct your personal information

General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)

The GDPR is a data protection and privacy regulation that applies to companies processing personal data of individuals located in the EU. This covers users in the European Economic Area (EEA). As required by applicable law, we collect and process information about individuals in the EEA only where we have a legal basis for doing so.

GDPR Compliance Principles

• Lawfulness, fairness, and transparency: We process personal data lawfully, fairly, and transparently
• Purpose limitation: Personal data is only collected for specified, explicit, and legitimate purposes
• Data minimization: We only collect and retain personal data that is necessary
• Accuracy: We take reasonable steps to ensure personal data is accurate and up to date
• Storage limitation: Personal data is kept only as long as necessary
• Security: We implement appropriate technical and organizational measures to protect personal data

Individual Rights Under GDPR

• Right to access their personal data
• Right to rectify inaccurate data
• Right to erasure (right to be forgotten)
• Right to restrict processing
• Right to data portability
• Data breach notification requirements

International Data Transfers and Storage

Personal information that you provide to Topicks may be stored in cloud storage services operated by third parties, which could be located in Australia or overseas. We may store information on servers and equipment in other countries depending on a variety of factors, including the locations of our users and service providers.

By accessing or using the Services or otherwise providing information to us, you consent to the processing, transfer, and storage of information in and to Australia and other countries, where you may not have the same rights as you do under local law.

Notifiable Data Breaches Scheme

In accordance with the Notifiable Data Breaches (NDB) scheme under Part IIIC of the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth), Topicks will notify affected individuals and the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) when a data breach is likely to result in serious harm to individuals whose personal information is involved in the breach.

We have implemented procedures to detect, assess, and respond to data breaches involving personal information, and will notify affected individuals as soon as practicable after becoming aware of a data breach that is likely to result in serious harm.

Data Retention

We will keep your Personal Information for as long as it is required to provide you with our services according to the Terms and Conditions and to comply with legal requirements. If we no longer require your Personal Information for any purpose, including legal purposes, we will take reasonable steps to securely destroy or permanently de-identify your Personal Information.

Information with Special Protections

We do not collect or store any special categories of sensitive personal data such as race, ethnicity, religious, sexual, political, trade union membership, criminal convictions or health and biometric data.

You do however have the option to share this in our bio or comments. If you provide information about your religious views, sexual orientation, political views, health, racial or ethnic origin, philosophical beliefs or trade union membership, these types of information could have special protections under the laws of your jurisdiction. If you are not happy for such information to be shared publicly you can delete your comment to remove this content.

Age Restrictions

Children under 13 are not allowed to use Topicks Pty Ltd. If you are based in the EEA you may only use Topicks if you are over the age at which you can provide consent to data processing under the laws of your country.

If you are a parent or guardian and you are aware that an individual (of whom you are a parent or guardian) under the Age Limit has provided us with personal information, please contact us. We will, upon notice or discovery, take all reasonable efforts to erase or destroy any personal information that may have been collected or stored by us about that individual.

Account Deletion

If you delete your account, we delete your information, including the things you've posted, such as your username, photos and bio. Once your account is permanently deleted you won't be able to reactivate it, and you won't be able to retrieve information, including content you've posted.

It may take up to 90 days to delete your information after we begin the account deletion process or receive a content deletion request. After the information is deleted, it may take us up to another 90 days to remove it from backups and disaster recovery.

We may need to retain information to comply with certain legal obligations such as a legal request, government investigation, or regulatory proceedings. In some cases, we may preserve your information based on these reasons even after you request deletion of your account.

Links to Other Websites or Services

This Site/App may contain links to other websites. We are not responsible for the privacy practices or the content of these linked sites and have no knowledge of whether cookies or other tracking devices are used on these linked sites.

Contact Us

If you have any further queries relating to our Privacy Policy, or you have a concern, please contact us. If Topicks becomes aware of any ongoing concerns or problems with your Personal Information, we will take these issues seriously and work to address those concerns within a reasonable time.

By using the App, you agree to the terms of this Privacy Policy.