Privacy Policy

Bandto is a mobile app for building your professional network. Users can connect in person, in real world environments and physical locations to connect with people with relevant professional interests and objectives. Because Bandto is designed for in-person, professional connection, we care deeply about safety and user privacy. We try to limit the data we collect to what is necessary to use the app and connect with people for business or professional development purposes.

Data Collection And Us

Data we collect, how we use and share it, and your rights.

Account Data

When you sign up for an account on Bandto, you are asked to enter your name, phone number, email, title, company, industry, social media accounts, website, business inquiry email, bio, and profile photo. This data is used to identify you to other Bandto users and makes it easy for relevant professionals to find your account on the service. 

Contacts Data

When signing up for an account on Bandto, you have the option to give Bandto access to your address book to find contacts, family, or colleagues on Bandto. We will use your Contacts in order to identify other Users that you may know or that your Contacts may know and to provide you and other Users with suggestions with whom to connect, such as contacts-of-contacts. We will never send text messages to your Contacts without your explicit permission.

You can invite people to join Bandto by sending them a text message with a link to install the app. The invitation may include your name and/or the name of your contact on Bandto. We do not automatically send messages to your contacts on your behalf. Instead, you have to send the message yourself. This means you're always in control of what messages get sent to your contacts. When sending an invitation, you are also sending a contact request. We do this so they can immediately accept your contact request after signing up.

We collect Contact List information from users to help us provide a better experience. This information includes the names, phone numbers, and email addresses of users' contacts. Users can opt out of this collection by following the instructions in our privacy policy.

We use Contact List information to improve our services. For example, we use this information to provide users with more relevant recommendations and to personalize their experience. We also use this information to improve our customer service.

We do not share Contact List information with third-party service providers who help us provide our services.

Users can opt out of Contact List collection by following the instructions in our privacy policy. To opt out, users must provide us with their name, phone number, and email address. We will then remove them from our database.

We take the security of our users' information very seriously. We use industry-standard security measures to protect Contact List information from unauthorized access, use, or disclosure.

If you have any questions about our Contact List collection or security practices, please contact us at [support@bandto.com].

Social Media And Contact Information

You may choose to connect your other social media accounts, or sync your contacts..

Interests

You have the option of choosing topics you’re interested in to help us better personalize our Products to you. You can decide whether your interests are shared with other users as part of your profile or hidden. You can add, remove, or hide interests whenever you want.

Location Data

While creating an account on Bandto, you have the option to give Bandto access to your location information. We will use your approximate location to suggest nearby Signals and Places to join and to determine if Bandto is available in your area.

Your location information is temporarily stored with your account information and is fully encrypted. We do not track, sell, or share your location information and use it primarily for reflecting your position to you, relative to Signals nearby since users must be within a certain distance of the Signal they’d like to join.

When you use our services we may collect information about your location or a location you have visited. With your permission, we may also collect information about your precise location using methods that include GPS, wireless networks, cell towers, Wi-Fi access points, and other sensors, such as gyroscopes, accelerometers, and compasses.

Information Collected by Cookies and Other Technologies.

Like most online services and mobile applications, we may use cookies and other technologies, such as web beacons, web storage, and unique advertising identifiers, to collect information about your activity, browser, and device. We may also use these technologies to collect information when you interact with services we offer through one of our partners, such as advertising and commerce features. For example, we may use information collected on other websites to show you more relevant ads. Most web browsers are set to accept cookies by default. If you prefer, you can usually remove or reject browser cookies through the settings on your browser or device. Keep in mind, though, that removing or rejecting cookies could affect the availability and functionality of our services. To learn more about how we and our partners use cookies on our services and your choices, please check out our Cookie Policy.

Device and App Activity Data

When you use the app, we automatically collect certain information about your device (such as the type of device, operating system, IP address, and unique identifiers) and how you interact with the app (such as the actions you take and how long you use the app). We use this information to improve the app, create new features, and keep our systems secure.

Messages

We store the messages you send to and receive from other users and information about those messages or other messaging features in the Products. We review the contents of these messages if a user reports, or we otherwise detect, a potential trust and safety violation or potentially illegal or illicit activity.

How We Share Data

We do not sell, rent, license, or lease your data to third parties. However, we may share it with the following third parties:

Service Providers – such as hosting services, customer support services, and analytics services.

Professional Advisors – such as lawyers and accountants.

Business Transaction Recipients – including counterparties and others assisting with a merger, acquisition, financing, reorganization, bankruptcy, receivership, dissolution, asset sale, or similar transaction involving our business.

Legal and Safety – government authorities or regulators or other third parties where required by law or legal process or to protect Bandto, users’, or other third parties’ rights and safety.

How You Share Data

You can use Bandto to meet new people by sending them a contact request. When answering a contact request we send your response to your contact via the App and it includes your FIRST NAME, title, company, industry, social media accounts, website, business inquiry email, bio, and profile photo. 

Data Retention

We keep your data until we don’t need it for the purposes described in this policy and we have no legal obligation to keep it.

Your Rights

We provide all users with the following rights:

Delete – you can request that we delete the data we have about you, but this right is not absolute. We may need to keep certain information, for example, to comply with our legal requirements;
Correct – you can ask that we fix any errors or inaccuracies in the data we hold about you
Stop processing – you can tell us to stop processing your data;
Object – you can object to how we process your data; and
Complain – you can complain to the data protection regulator where you live (if you have one).

You can exercise these rights by emailing us at help@bandto.com and providing the name and email associated with your account in your message. We will not treat you differently if you exercise any of these rights, but we may need additional information to verify your identity. An agent can also make these requests on your behalf, but we may still ask you to verify your identity and that you have authorized the agent to act on your behalf.

Children

Bandto is not intended for children under 18 years old and we do not believe we have collected any data from children under 18. If we learn that we have collected data from children without proper consent, we will delete that data.

Changes to this Policy

We may need to update this policy to account for changes in our business and applicable laws. If we change this policy, we will post the new version here. If the changes are significant we will notify you through the app.

Contact Us

Please email us at help@bandto.com with any questions.

California Consumer Privacy Act Disclosures

Last Modified: December 22, 2022

The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) requires us to disclose categories of Personal Information we collect and how we use it, the categories of sources from whom we collect Personal Information, and the third parties with whom we share it, which we have explained above. This notice supplements information contained in our Privacy Policy and applies solely to residents of the State of California (“consumers” or “you”). Any terms defined in the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018, as amended from time to time (“CCPA”) have the same meaning when used in this notice and policy. This notice and policy does not reflect our collection, use, or disclosure of California residents’ personal information, or data subject rights, where an exception under the CCPA applies. You can download a pdf version of the notice and policy here.

1. Your Rights To Access And Deletion

Access. You have the right to request a copy of the personal information we collect, use, or disclose about you. You can submit a request for this information via our Knowledge Center article.

Deletion. You also have the right to request the deletion of personal information. You can submit a request for the deletion of personal information via our Knowledge Center using this form. Alternatively, you can send your request to us at the address noted in Section 6 of this Disclosure.

Verification. Bandto may ask you to provide certain information to verify your identity. The information that we ask you to provide to verify your identity will depend on your prior interactions with us and the sensitivity of the personal information at issue. Bandto will respond to your request in accordance with the CCPA. If we deny your request, we will explain why.

Exceptions. In accordance with the CCPA, Bandto will not provide the following information in response to access requests for the following reasons:

• Account data such as account passwords and identity verification codes, unmasked phone numbers, or email addresses, because of the sensitive nature of the information.

• Other users’ and employees’ personal information, including the names and account information of individuals who may have invited you to the app, other users’ feedback, and employees’ comments because the information belongs to other persons and disclosing it may impact their rights.

• Internal proprietary attributes that enable us to provide various aspects of our app, including channel and room customization, suspension decisions, and content suggestions, because the information is protected by federal and state trade secret law.

• Server logs that are older than 30 days because we use these to ensure the security and integrity of our app.

Bandto does not sell the personal information of its users. When a business sells your personal information, you have a right to opt out. Bandto does not sell, and in the preceding 12 months did not sell, California residents’ personal information. Bandto does not have actual knowledge that it sells the personal information of minors under 16 years of age.

2. Personal Information Handling Practices

Below you will find a list of the categories of personal information we collect about California residents and have collected in the preceding 12 months. For each category of personal information we have collected, we reference to the enumerated category or categories of personal information in the CCPA that most closely describe the personal information

Personal Information Handling Practices

CCPA Category

Category Of Personal Information We Collect

Identifiers:

Name, username, telephone number, e-mail address, IP address, profile picture, purchase or transaction history, information provided in user’s profile or bio

Categories listed in the California Customer Records Act (Cal. Civ. Code § 1798.80(e))

Name, username, date of birth, telephone number, e-mail address, IP address, profile picture, purchase or transaction history, preferred language, interests, app usage and activity information, following and follower lists, contact lists (hashed telephone numbers only), information from user’s other social media accounts (if user chooses to connect them), messages sent and received from other Bandto users, questions or feedback sent to Bandto

Characteristics of protected classifications under California or federal law

Age

Commercial information

Purchase or transaction history, interests, app usage and activity information, following and follower lists, contact lists (hashed telephone numbers only), questions or feedback sent to Bandto

Internet or other electronic network activity information, including, but not limited to, browsing history, search history, and information regarding a consumer’s interaction with an Internet Web website, application, or advertisement

IP address, domain name, browsing history, browser type and settings, operating system, network information, service provider, signal strength, device type, device memory, device’s call log data, unique application identifier, unique device identifier, apps installed on device, time of visit, duration of visit, date and time stamps of actions

Geolocation data

IP address

Audio, electronic, visual, thermal, olfactory, or similar information

Recordings of conversations in Bandto rooms

Professional or Employment related information

Information that may be supplied in user’s bio

Education Information

Information that may be supplied in user’s bio

Inferences drawn from the information above

Information about user activity used to personalize recommendations regarding rooms or Signals a user might join, people a user might know, or other content a user might enjoy on Bandto.

Bandto collects this personal information from the following sources:

• Information Provided By You. When you use Bandto, we collect personal information that you provide to us. When you set up an account, we may ask you to provide information about yourself, including your name, phone number, email address, and date of birth. “Account Data.” We may also ask you to provide us with some additional personal information that will be publicly visible in our Products, such as a profile picture, a bio in your profile to tell other Bandto users more about you, and topics you’re interested in. You may also choose to connect your other social media accounts, and sync your contacts. If you choose to send money to other users, you will be asked to provide a debit or credit card number and other account information.

• Information We Get From You When You Use Our Products. When you use our Products, we collect additional personal information based on your activity and other personal information you might choose to disclose. As discussed in our Privacy Policy, this may include usage and activity information, conversations, messages, other communications, transaction data, contacts, log data and device information, and cookie data. Bandto may collect information from the computer, tablet, phone, or other device that you install our mobile application on, that you use to access our Products, or that you use to open an email or click on an advertisement from Bandto. Bandto does not respond to “do not track signals.”

• Information From Third Parties. If you link your Bandto account to Twitter, Instagram, or any other social media services, we may receive information from those other services. The information we receive will depend on the privacy settings on those other services. We may also receive information about you from our service providers.

Bandto collects, uses, retains, and discloses this personal information for the following purposes:

• Register your account, verify your identity, and verify the accuracy of your information.

• Develop, operate, improve, deliver, maintain, and protect our Products.

• Personalize our Products by showing you relevant content, connecting you to users, Signals, rooms, and other content we think you might like, and to help you and your friends connect with one another on Bandto.

• Send you communications via email or text message. For example, we may use email or text messages to respond to support inquiries, share information about our Products, highlight content we think you might like, tell you about features we think you might like to hear about, or suggest ways to improve your Bandto experience.

• Monitor and enhance the safety and security of our Products

• Monitor and analyze user engagement, trends, and usage

• Assess the efficiency of our advertising campaigns on other platforms

• Handle and record consumer rights requests, including opt-ins and opt-outs

• Prevent fraud or other unauthorized or illegal activity

• Enforce, investigate, and report conduct violating our Terms of Service, Community Guidelines, or other policies

• Respond to requests from law enforcement agencies or other government agencies, and comply with legal or regulatory requirements