Privacy Policy
Last updated and effective: · Version 2026-09-24
Who we are
Akangbou ("Akangbou," "we," "us") is operated by [TO BE CONFIRMED: legal entity name], [TO BE CONFIRMED: registered postal address]. This policy explains how we handle personal information when you use our website, mobile apps, and related services (the "Services"): the social feed, professional directory, quotes and bookings, event ticketing, marketplace perks, Clubhouse memberships, the influencer referral program, project portals, and messaging. We are the "business" / "controller" for this information except where noted (for example, event organizers and professionals control the data they receive from you through the Services).
Information we collect
This table is also our notice at collection. We collect only what is reasonably necessary for the purposes listed.
| Category | Examples | Source | Purposes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Identifiers & account data | Name, username, email address, password (stored hashed by our auth provider), phone number if you add it, account ID, profile photo | You | Create and secure your account, authenticate you, communicate with you, prevent fraud |
| Profile & professional information | Bio, company, role, city/region, service area, trade specialties, license numbers, insurance and certification details, portfolio, rates | You | Operate the professional directory, public profiles, matching, and search |
| Commercial & transaction information | Subscriptions, event reservations, booking deposits, club dues, perk claims, amounts, payment status, Stripe customer and payment IDs (we do not store full card numbers) | You; Stripe | Process payments, holds, refunds, payouts, taxes, disputes; keep accounting records |
| Payout & identity verification (professionals, organizers, club owners, influencers) | Legal name, date of birth, tax ID, bank account, identity documents — collected directly by Stripe Connect; we receive account status only | You via Stripe | Pay you, meet know-your-customer, anti-money-laundering, and tax reporting obligations |
| User content & communications | Posts, comments, likes, reviews, messages, quote requests and responses, project files and updates, club posts and documents, event details, bug reports | You and other users | Provide the social, messaging, quoting, project, and club features; moderation and safety |
| Event attendee information | Attendee name, email, phone number, ticket quantity | You | Issue and manage reservations; shared with the event organizer to run the event |
| Referral & influencer program data | Referral codes, attributed signups, commissions, payout records, agreement acceptance (time, IP address, browser) | You; our systems | Attribute referrals, pay commissions, keep an audit trail of agreement acceptance |
| Internet / device activity | IP address, browser and device type, pages viewed, in-app actions and feature events, search queries on Akangbou, push notification tokens, error diagnostics | Automatically | Security, rate limiting and abuse prevention, debugging, service improvement, push notifications |
| Approximate location | City, state, or ZIP you enter, and a map point derived from it; IP-based region for security | You; automatically | Location-based directory and event search. We do not collect precise GPS location. |
| Consent & preference records | Terms/Privacy versions accepted, acceptance time and IP, age confirmation, marketing opt-in, notification settings, cookie choices | You | Demonstrate consent and honor your choices |
Public information. Your name, username, photo, bio, professional profile, posts, reviews, and public events are visible to others and may be indexed by search engines. You can make your account private and control follower counts in settings.
Sensitive personal information. The only sensitive categories we process are account log-in credentials and, for payouts, financial account details collected by Stripe. We use them only to provide the Services, secure accounts, and meet legal obligations — not to infer characteristics about you.
How we use information
- Provide, operate, and maintain the Services and your account.
- Process payments, card authorizations for goal-based events, subscriptions, refunds, payouts, and taxes.
- Send transactional messages (receipts, reservation and booking updates, security alerts, policy changes).
- Send marketing email only if you opted in; every marketing email includes an unsubscribe link.
- Send push notifications you allow on your device; you can turn them off in device settings.
- Keep the Services safe: authentication, rate limiting, fraud and abuse detection, moderation of reports.
- Debug and improve the Services, including aggregated analytics where you consented.
- Comply with law, enforce our Terms, and establish or defend legal claims.
We do not use automated decision-making that produces legal or similarly significant effects about you.
No sale or sharing of personal information; Global Privacy Control
We do not sell personal information and we do not "share" it for cross-context behavioral advertising, as those terms are defined by the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA/CPRA) and similar laws. We do not use third-party advertising pixels. We have not sold or shared personal information in the preceding 12 months, and we do not knowingly sell or share information of consumers under 16.
We honor the Global Privacy Control (GPC) browser signal as a valid request to opt out of sale and sharing, and we also treat it as a refusal of optional analytics and session replay in that browser. You can review or change these choices at any time on Your Privacy Choices. We do not respond differently to legacy "Do Not Track" signals because there is no common standard for them.
Retention
- Account, profile, and content: while your account is active. When you delete your account, we delete or de-identify it, generally within 30 days, subject to the exceptions below.
- Payment, tax, payout, and dispute records: as long as required for accounting and tax law (generally up to 7 years), in de-identified form where possible.
- Security and rate-limit logs: short-lived, generally no longer than 90 days unless needed for an investigation.
- Consent and agreement-acceptance records: for the life of the account plus the period needed to demonstrate compliance.
- Messages and content you sent to others may remain visible to recipients where deletion would affect their records (for example, shared project files).
- Backups roll off on a fixed schedule; deleted data may persist in backups until they expire.
Your rights and how to use them
Depending on where you live, you may have the right to:
- Know / access the personal information we hold and how we use and disclose it;
- Portability — receive a copy in a machine-readable format;
- Correct inaccurate information;
- Delete your information;
- Opt out of sale, sharing, targeted advertising, and profiling (we do none of these, and we honor GPC);
- Limit use of sensitive personal information (we already limit it to permitted purposes);
- Withdraw consent for marketing email, push notifications, and optional cookies at any time;
- Appeal a decision we make about your request;
- Not be discriminated against for exercising these rights.
How to exercise them:
- Signed in: go to Settings → Profile to download your data (JSON export) or delete your account; edit your profile to correct information; change email and notification settings there too.
- Anyone (including authorized agents): email privacy@akangbou.com with your request and the email on your account.
We verify requests by confirming control of the account email, and may ask for more information for sensitive requests. Authorized agents must provide signed permission, and we may ask you to confirm your identity directly. We respond within 45 days (extendable by 45 days where permitted, with notice) — or within one month for GDPR requests. If we deny your request, you can appeal by replying to our decision or emailing privacy@akangbou.com with the subject "Privacy appeal"; we respond to appeals within 60 days (45 days where required). If your appeal is denied you may contact your state Attorney General.
California and other U.S. state notices
In the past 12 months we collected the categories listed in the table above (CCPA categories: identifiers; customer records; commercial information; internet or other electronic network activity; approximate geolocation; professional or employment-related information; audio/visual information such as photos you upload; and sensitive personal information limited to log-in credentials and payout financial details). We disclosed each category for a business purpose to the service providers and recipients described above. We did not sell or share any category.
California residents may also request information about disclosures for direct marketing under Civil Code §1798.83 ("Shine the Light"); we do not disclose personal information to third parties for their direct marketing. Residents of Colorado, Connecticut, Virginia, Utah, Texas, Oregon, Montana, and other states with comprehensive privacy laws have the rights described above, including the right to appeal.
EEA, UK, and Swiss users
Akangbou is designed for the U.S. market. If you use it from the EEA, UK, or Switzerland, we rely on these legal bases: performance of a contract (providing the Services and payments); legitimate interests (security, fraud prevention, service improvement, and communications about the Services, balanced against your rights); consent (marketing email, optional cookies and analytics, push notifications); and legal obligation (tax and accounting).
Your data is processed in the United States. Where required, transfers rely on the European Commission's Standard Contractual Clauses or another lawful mechanism with our processors. You have the rights of access, rectification, erasure, restriction, portability, and objection, and the right to lodge a complaint with your local supervisory authority.
Security
We use encryption in transit (TLS), access controls and row-level security in our database, least-privilege access for staff, and monitoring. No system is perfectly secure. If a breach affects your personal information, we will notify you and regulators as required by law. See our Security Policy.
Children and minors
Akangbou is only for people 18 and older. Accounts require confirming you are at least 18. We do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 18, and we do not direct the Services to children under 13. If you believe a minor has provided us information, contact privacy@akangbou.com and we will delete it.
Changes to this policy
We will update the "Last updated" date and version above when we change this policy. For material changes we will notify you by email or in the app before the change takes effect and, where required, ask for your consent again.
Contact
[TO BE CONFIRMED: legal entity name]
[TO BE CONFIRMED: registered postal address]
Privacy requests and questions: privacy@akangbou.com