Privacy Policy
A. Introduction
1. This privacy policy (the “Privacy Policy”) is part and parcel of the Agreement, and adopts all the defined terms stated in the Agreement.
2. By using the Platform, each User, counsellor, and person who uses the Platform or any part(s) thereof (including each guest user) consents to the Company’s Privacy Policy, all of the terms of which are contained herein.
3. If each User or potential User does not agree to this Privacy Policy, that User or potential User shall not use or continue to use the Platform or any part(s) thereof. The same shall apply to each counsellor and person who uses the Platform.
4. The Company shall comply with all applicable laws concerning the privacy of:-
a. all Users,
b. all counsellors; and all other persons who use the Platform (including all online visitor(s) to the Platform and
c. all customer(s) of the Company’s Services, if applicable).
5. The provisions in this Privacy Policy are valid to the maximum extent as allowed by the applicable law(s).
6. Should any part(s) of the provision(s) of this Privacy Policy be severed by court(s) of competent jurisdiction, the remaining part(s) of the relevant provision(s), if any, shall remain valid and enforceable.
7. The Company may choose to permit third party or third parties to offer service(s) through the Platform or any part(s) thereof.
8. The Company shall not be responsible for any action(s), policy or policies of such third party or parties, and each User, counsellor and any other person who uses the Platform should check the applicable privacy policy of such party or parties when providing personally identifiable information.
B. Scope of “Personal Data”
1. Personal Data includes but is not limited to the following:-
a. each User’s, counsellor’s and/or any other Platform user’s account registration information on the Platform;
b. information regarding request(s) from User(s), counsellor(s) and/or any other Platform user(s) for support from the Company;
c. information regarding report(s) to the Company from User(s), counsellor(s) and/or any other Platform user(s) regarding any problem;
d. information provided by User(s), counsellor(s) and/or any other Platform user(s) concerning the use of the Services;
e. information provided by User(s), counsellor(s) and/or any other Platform user(s) concerning the features related to the Platform;
f. information from User(s), counsellor(s) and/or any other Platform user(s) regarding the completion of survey(s) and/or questionnaire(s);
g. technical information, including the Internet protocol (IP) address(es) used by User(s), counsellor(s) and/or any other Platform user(s);
h. the log-in information of User(s), counsellor(s) and/or any other Platform user(s) in relation to the Platform, browser(s), time zone setting(s), browser plug-in type(s) and version(s), and the operating system(s);
i. details of any transaction(s), purchase(s), and payment(s) made by User(s), counsellor(s) and/or any other Platform user(s);
j. the interaction(s) of User(s), counsellor(s) and/or any other Platform user(s) with the Platform, including such User, counsellor(s) and/or any other Platform user(s) interaction(s) as related to:-
i. full Uniform Resource Locator(s) (URL(s)),
ii. clickstream to, through and from the Platform,
iii. page(s) viewed or searched for,
iv. page response time(s),
v. download error(s),
vi. length of visit(s) to certain page(s),
vii. other page interaction information;
k. information received by User(s), counsellor(s) and/or any other Platform user(s) from third party or third parties, including such third party or third parties in relation to:-
i. the Company’s business partners,
ii. the Company’s sub-contractors,
iii. payment and delivery service(s), and
iv. referrals by User(s), counsellor(s) and/or any other Platform user(s).
l. session transcript(s) in relation to counselling session(s) conducted via the Platform;
m. chatroom message(s), journal(s) and report(s) regarding counselling session(s);
n. information collected during the use of tools including the articles, deeper emotion tests and forum on the App;
o. personal contact information and emergency contact details.
C. Personal Data and the Company
1. The Company processes anonymous data, aggregated or not, to analyze and produce statistics related to the habits, usage patterns, and demographics of User(s), counsellor(s) and/or any other Platform user(s). Such anonymous data does not allow the identification of the person to which it relates.
2. The Company may share anonymous data, aggregated or not, with third parties.
3. The Company collects and processes Personal Data for the following reasons:-
a. performing the Agreement to provide User(s), counsellor(s) and/or any other Platform user(s) with content(s) in relation to the Platform and the Services, including providing, improving and developing the Services; [AC1] [ct2]
b. researching, designing and launching new feature(s) and/or product(s);
c. providing User(s), counsellor(s) and/or any other Platform user(s) with alert(s), update(s), material(s) and/or information about the Services and/or other type(s) of information that User(s), counsellor(s) and/or any other Platform user(s) requested for and/or signed up to;
d. collecting overdue fee(s) in relation to the Platform and/or the Services;
e. legal proceeding(s);
f. seeking professional advice;
g. safeguarding the interests of the Company, a third party and/or third parties, including but not limited to the Company’s other customer(s);
h. compliance with legal obligation(s) of the Company;
i. communicating with User(s), counsellor(s) and/or any other Platform user(s);
j. responding to question(s) and/or request(s) from User(s), counsellor(s) and/or any other Platform user(s);
k. direct marketing;
l. where a User, counsellor(s) and/or any other Platform user(s) has given consent for the Company to collect and process that person’s Personal Data;
m. transfer of collected Personal Data to other mobile and/or online application(s) and/or platform(s) of the Company; or
n. any other purpose(s) relevant to the subsection(s) under this clause.
4. Terms herein providing for the Company’s reasons for collecting and processing Personal Data shall determine and limit:-
a. what Personal Data the Company collects and how the Company uses such Personal Data (Part D below);
b. how long the Company stores the Personal Data (Part E below);
c. who has access to the Personal Data (Part F below); and
d. what rights and other control mechanisms are available to each User, counsellor and/or other Platform user in relation to the Personal Data (Part G below).
D. The Data the Company Collects and Processes
1. The Company collects data in a manner compliant with all applicable laws, regulations and rules.
2. All data (including but not limited to de-identified data, meta-data and research data) collected by the Company through each person’s use of the Services remains the sole property of the Company.
3. The Company may share some or all of its research data with third party or third parties in connection with joint or outside research, analytics, or for similar purpose(s).
4. Research data is used by the Company in non-identifiable aggregate form, but not in a manner that would identify any User, counsellor and/or other Platform user personally. Each User, counsellor and/or other Platform user is not entitled to request the Company to remove and/or delete any such data.
5. Each User, counsellor and/or other Platform user consents to the Company’s use of meta-data and other search term(s) to:-
a. scan de-identified transcript(s); and
b. search for trend(s) and pattern(s) that may affect:-
i. the quality of the Services provided; or
ii. the practice(s) of the provider(s).
(a) Basic Account Data
6. When each User, counsellor and/or other Platform user sets up an account at the Platform, the Company will collect that person’s information, which is necessary for such person to register for the account.
7. Each User, counsellor and/or other Platform user is responsible for keeping that person’s password for the relevant Platform account confidential and shall not share the password with third party or third parties.
(b) Transaction and Payment Data
8. In order to make a transaction online, each User shall provide necessary payment data to the Company to enable smooth processing of that transaction. If a User pays by credit card, the User needs to provide credit card information to the Company, which includes name, address, credit card number, expiration date and security code. Each User may also elect to make payment by way of PayPal and/or bank transfer. In the case of bank transfer the User shall upload the relevant payment receipt to the Platform. The Company will then collect, store and process such information collected and transmit it to the payment service provider of the User’s choice to enable the transaction and perform any necessary anti-fraud check(s). The Company will receive data from the User’s payment service provider for the same reasons.
9. After gaining approval from the Company upon registration at the Platform, and in order to receive payment(s) from the Company at the end of each month, each counsellor shall provide the following banking information to the Company:-
a. bank name of the counsellor’s bank account;
b. the relevant bank code;
c. the relevant bank account number; and
d. the relevant bank account name.
(c) Other Data Submitted
10. The Company will collect and process Personal Data whenever provided by User(s), counsellor(s) and/or other Platform user(s) to the Company, or whenever such Personal Data has been sent by User(s), counsellor(s) and/or other Platform user(s) using the Platform in the course of communication with other person(s). For example, this includes communication information:-
a. in forum(s);
b. in chatbox(es);
c. in chatroom(s);
d. in relation to feedback submitted on or through the Platform; and
e. in relation to other contents submitted on or through the Platform.
11. Personal Data includes but is not limited to:
a. information that each User, counsellor, and/or other Platform user posts, comments on or follows by using the Platform and/or by using the Services;
b. information sent by each User, counsellor, and/or other Platform user through chatbox(es) and chatroom(s);
c. information each User, counsellor, and/or other Platform user provides when requesting information and/or support from the Company and/or when using the Services or any part(s) thereof;
d. such information as necessary for the Company to process each User’s, counsellor’s, and/or other Platform user’s order(s) with the relevant payment merchant(s);
e. information each User, counsellor, and/or other Platform user provides to the Company when participating in any competition(s), contest(s), tournament(s);
f. information each User, counsellor, and/or other Platform user provides to the Company when responding to survey(s), including that person’s contact details;
g. information each User, counsellor, and/or other Platform user provides through the Company’s functions or tools; and
h. contact information including the User’s, counsellor’s, and/or other Platform user’s own contact information and emergency contact information.
(d) Use of Services and other Subscriptions
12. Each User, counsellor, and/or other Platform user agrees that, in order to provide that person with the Services, the Company shall collect, store and use information about each User’s, counsellor’s, and/or other Platform user’s activity made available to the Company through the Platform and/or the Services.
(e) Tracking Data and Cookies
13. The Company uses Cookies to analyze how each User, counsellor, and/or other Platform user uses the Platform and/or the Services.
14. The Company uses technologies (such as web beacons, pixels, advertisement tags and device identifiers) to:-
a. recognize each User, counsellor, and/or other Platform user and/or that person’s device(s) on, off and across different device(s) and the Services;
b. improve the Services; and
c. improve marketing, analytics and/or Platform functionality.
15. Each User, counsellor, and/or other Platform user agrees and acknowledges that the Company makes use of Cookies on the internet for its legitimate business purpose(s).
16. Website browser(s) in relation to the Platform are allowed to automatically accept Cookies, but it is for each User, counsellor, and/or other Platform user to decide whether to accept such relevant arrangement(s).
17. Each User, counsellor, and/or other Platform user may adjust that person’s browser settings to prevent the reception of Cookies by the Company, or to receive notification whenever a Cookie is sent to that person.
18. Each User, counsellor, and/or other Platform user may refuse the use of Cookies by the Company by selecting the appropriate settings on that person’s browser. However, in doing so such person may not be able to access the full functionality of the Platform.
19. When each User, counsellor, and/or other Platform user visits any of the Services, the Company’s servers obtain data of that person’s global IP address, being a number automatically assigned to the network that the person’s computer is part of.
(f) Third Party Services
20. The Company’s website uses third party services (“Third Party Services”) that make use of Cookies.
21. The information generated by the Cookie(s) will generally be transmitted to and stored by the Third Party Services on server(s).
22. The Company cannot or does not control the use of Cookies by the Third Party Services.
23. Third Party Services will generally use the information collected from website visitors for the purpose(s) of evaluating the website(s), location(s) or credential(s) in relation to its visitor(s), in order to compile report(s) on website activity or activities, and provide other service(s) relating to website activity and internet usage for website operator(s).
24. Third Party Services will not associate the IP address(es) transferred with any other data held by the Company.
25. In relation to the Company’s website, each User, counsellor, and/or other Platform user may object to the use of Cookies by the Company by selecting the appropriate setting(s) on that person’s browser. However, in such case(s) the User, counsellor, and/or other Platform user may not be able to access the full functionality of the Company’s website.
(g) Content Recommendations
26. To improve each User’s, counsellor’s, and/or other Platform user’s customer experience, the Company is allowed to process information collected pursuant to Part D herein, such that:-
a. the Platform and the Services (including the different website pages and update message(s) displayed to User(s), counsellor(s), and/or other Platform user(s) upon launching the Services) can be tailored to meet each of the above person’s needs; and
b. each User, counsellor, and/or other Platform user may be provided with relevant recommendation(s) and offer(s) from the Company.
27. Subject to each User’s, counsellor’s, and/or other Platform user’s consent and/or where permitted by the applicable law(s), the Company may:-
a. send marketing and servicing message(s) to the email address(es) of such person(s);
b. use information of such person(s) to customize marketing and servicing message(s);
c. collect information on whether such person(s) opened the Company’s marketing and servicing message(s);
d. collect information on the website link(s) in the marketing and servicing message(s) that such person(s) accessed.
28. Each User, counsellor, and/or other Platform user can withdraw that person’s consent to receive marketing email(s) at any time by clicking the “unsubscribe” website link button provided in every marketing email.
29. Notwithstanding any instruction(s) from User(s), counsellor(s), and/or other Platform user(s) to opt out from promotional and/or marketing email(s), the Company reserves the right to contact such person(s) regarding:-
a. account status,
b. change(s) to the Agreement, and
c. any other matters relevant to the Services and/or information concerning such person(s).
(h) Information Required to Detect Violations
30. The Violation Data shall be stored by the Company for a reasonable amount of time to enable the Company to meet the Purposes or any part(s) thereof.
31. If the Violation Data shows that there has been violation(s) of the Agreement (including this Privacy Policy) and/or the applicable law(s), then the Company has the right to store the Violation Data for the establishment, exercise and/or defence of legal claim(s) during the applicable limitation period or until the relevant legal case(s) has/have fully been resolved, whichever is later.
32. Each User, counsellor, and other Platform user acknowledges that the Violation Data stored by the Company may not be disclosed to that person, as disclosure may compromise the Company’s detection, investigation and/or prevention of violation(s) of:-
a. the Agreement (including the Privacy Policy), and/or
b. the applicable law(s).
E. How the Company Stores Data
(a) Period of Storage
1. The Company shall store each User’s, counsellor’s, and/or other Platform user’s information for as long as necessary to fulfill the purpose(s) for which the information has been collected and processed, or where the applicable law(s) provide(s) for longer storage period(s), according to the latter period(s).
(b) Deletion of Data
2. The Company does not delete any record on the App, and there is no delete data function in the administrative staff’s portal.
3. The Company shall retain transactional data in relation to User(s), counsellor(s), and/or other Platform user(s) for the period(s) required by the applicable law(s).
(c) Location of Storage
4. The data that the Company collects from each User, counsellor, and/or other Platform user may be transferred and/or stored at Hong Kong, or at destination outside of that person’s jurisdiction. Such data may also be processed by third party or third parties who operate outside of that person’s jurisdiction.
5. By submitting personal data to the Company, each User, counsellor, and/or other Platform user agrees to the transfer, storing and/or processing of data outside of that person’s jurisdiction.
6. The Company will take all steps reasonably necessary to ensure that the User’s, counsellor’s, and other Platform user’s data is treated securely and in accordance with this Privacy Policy.
F. Data Security
1. The Company, its subsidiary or subsidiaries, the Company’s overseas office(s) (if any), the Company’s affiliate(s), the Company’s business partner(s), and the Company’s counterpart(s) may, where necessary, share the Personal Data of User(s) with one another, and use the Personal Data to the degree necessary to achieve the purposes provided for in this Privacy Policy (in particular Part C).
2. In the event of any reorganization(s), sale(s), merger(s) and/or acquisition(s), the Company may transfer the Personal Data of User(s), counsellor(s), and/or other Platform user(s) to the relevant transferee(s) relevant to the Company’s operation(s).
3. The Company may share Personal Data of the User(s), counsellor(s), and other Platform user(s) with third party provider(s) that provide customer support service(s) that are distributed through the Company.
4. Each User’s, counsellor’s, and/or other Platform user’s Personal Data shall be used by the Company in accordance with this Privacy Policy, and only as far as necessary for providing service(s) to customer(s).
5. The Company may also share information collected from User(s), counsellor(s), and/or other Platform user(s) with the Company’s personnel, agent(s), adviser(s), auditor(s), contractor(s), financial institution(s), and service provider(s) for purpose(s) that are relevant to the Company’s operation(s) and/or service(s). Examples of such include but are not limited to the sharing of information with:-
a. person(s) engaged in the fulfillment of order(s);
b. person(s) responsible for the processing of payment(s);
c. person(s) responsible for providing supporting service(s);
d. person(s) under a duty of confidentiality to the Company; and
e. person(s) to whom the Company is required to make disclosure under the applicable law(s) and/or regulation(s).
6. The Company may also share each User’s, counsellor’s, and/or other Platform user’s information (including the relevant IP address and the identification of content(s) that the person wishes to access) with third party network provider(s) that provide content delivery network service(s) and server service(s) in connection with the Company.
7. The Company’s content delivery network provider(s) enable(s) the delivery of digital content(s) requested by User(s), counsellor(s), and/or other Platform user(s), by using system(s) of distributed server(s) to deliver the content(s) to each of such person (where applicable), based on that person’s geographical location.
8. The Company may allow each User, counsellor, and other Platform user to link that person’s Platform account to an account or account(s) offered by a third party or third parties. If that person should consent to link the account(s), the Company may collect and combine information that that person allowed the Company to receive from the relevant third party or third parties with the information of the relevant account to the degree allowed by that person at the material time. If the linking of the accounts requires the transmission of information about the User, counsellor, and/or other Platform user from the Company to a third party or third parties, that person will be so informed before the linking takes place, and that person will be given the opportunity to provide express consent to the linking and transmission of information. The relevant third party’s or third parties’ use of that person’s information is generally subject to the third party’s or third parties’ privacy policy or policies, which the Company encourages that person to review.
9. The Company may disclose Personal Data of User(s), counsellor(s), and/or other Platform user(s) to comply with court order(s), law(s) and/or regulation(s) that require(s) disclosure. To protect the safety of User(s), counsellor(s), other Platform user(s), and/or other person(s) in relation to the Platform, Personal Data may be disclosed by the Company to third party or third parties in the following situations:-
a. where any of the above person(s) is/are involved in a medical emergency or medical emergencies, Personal Data may be given to the relevant medical personnel;
b. where a User is considered by the Company to be in an emergency situation apart from as covered by clause 9(a) hereinabove;
c. where a court order is received by the Company requiring disclosure of information; and
d. if any of the above person(s), particularly User(s), intend(s) harm to self or to other person(s).
10. The Company may make certain data in relation to each Platform account available to other person(s) using the Platform. For example such information may be accessed by any User(s), counsellor(s) and/or other Platform user(s) that has/have query or queries concerning the identity of a person on the Platform. The online name that each User, counsellor and/or other Platform user has chosen for representing that person is also accessible to other such person(s).
11. The accessibility of other information about User(s) can be controlled on the relevant User’s profile page. The same applies to counsellor(s) and other Platform user(s), where applicable.
12. Data that is publicly available on the User’s, counsellor’s and other Platform user’s profile page can be accessed by other such person(s), where applicable.
13. While the Company does not knowingly share Personally Identifying Information about the User, counsellor and/or other Platform user such as that person’s real name and/or email address(es) with any third party or third parties, any information that person shares about him/herself on that his/her public profile may, where applicable, be accessed by third party or third parties, and such may include information that may make that person identifiable to the third party or third parties.
14. The Platform may include message boards, forums and chat areas, where Users, counsellors and/or other Platform users may exchange idea(s) and communicate with one another online.
15. When posting message(s) to board(s), forum(s) or chat area(s), Users, counsellors and/or other Platform users shall be aware that the information posted shall be made publicly available online, as such each of such person posts information at his/her sole and own risk. Such information posted can be collected and used by third party or parties and may result in unsolicited message(s) from third party or parties. The Company expressly states and each User, counsellor and/or other Platform user agrees that that such third party activity or activities is/are beyond the Company’s control.
16. If any User’s, counsellor’s and/or other Platform user’s Personal Data is posted anywhere on the Platform against that person’s will, that person may report the incident to the Company to request the removal of such Personal Data. The Company shall follow up on the report in a manner that the Company sees fit.
(a) Registration data
17. User’s, counsellor’s and/or other Platform user’s registration information is saved in the App’s system “MSSQL database” and the relevant password is encrypted. Except the person’s password, the App’s administrative staff can review all other registration information provided by Users, counsellors and other Platform users, where applicable.
(b) Emotion Tracker Data
18. The App’s administrative staff cannot access the Emotion Tracker records in the administrative staff’s portal. The Emotion Tracker records are saved in the MSSQL database stated above, and are only accessible to User(s), counsellor(s) and/or other Platform user(s) who has or have the relevant database credentials.
(c) Counselling records
19. Text counselling dialogue(s) will be saved in the “FireBase database”. The text counselling dialogue(s) will not be accessible via the App’s administrative staff’s portal. Only the administrator with the “FireBase database” credentials can access the said data.
20. Zoom SDK service provides the audio and video counselling service(s) of the App. Each User’s, Moodie’s and/or other Platform User’s database does not save any conversations of person(s) using the App. For the security and privacy control of the Zoom service(s), please refer to Zoom for further details.
21. Counselling feedback data are saved in the App’s database and can be reviewed by the App’s administrative staff via the administrative staff’s portal.
22. Counselling booking schedules are saved in the App’s database and can be reviewed by the App’s administrative staff via the administrative staff’s portal.
(d) Payment
23. Each counsellor’s bank account information will be collected after their profile has been approved by the Company.
24. Payment from Users may be made using the Stripe and PayPal payment
gateways. The relevant data and internet security are handled by the
relevant payment gateway service providers.
(e) Data Retention
25. The Company does not delete any record obtained through the App. There is no delete data function in the administrative staff’s portal.
G. Rights and Control Mechanisms
1. Each User, counsellor, and other Platform user has the right to:
a. check whether the Company holds any Personal Data about that person;
b. access any Personal Data the Company holds about that person;
c. require the Company to correct any inaccuracy and/or error in any Personal Data the Company holds about that person.
H. Children
1. Insofar as certain countries apply a higher age of consent for the collection of Personal Data, in such case(s), the Company requires express written parental consent and/or guardian’s consent concerning that person before:-
a. a Platform account may be created for that person, and
b. Personal Data associated with that person may be collected by the Company.
2. Parents are urged to instruct their children to never give out children’s personal information online, or only give out such personal information when under the proper guidance of the relevant parent(s) and/or guardian(s).
3. When a User is under 18 and registers for an Account on the App, such act represents that that person has obtained his/her parental and/or guardian’s consent for that person under 18 to receive counselling via the Platform and use the Platform.
I. The Company’s Contact Information
1. Each User, counsellor and/or other Platform user can contact the Company by sending email(s) to info@moodiescare.com.
J. Revision Date
1. This Privacy Policy was last updated on 16th December 2023 (the “Revision Date”).
2. The most updated Company’s privacy policy shall apply to all Users, counsellors and other Platform users, regardless of the date on which each such person started to use and/or access the Platform.
3. The Company reserves the right to change its privacy policy at any time.
4. Upon each revision of the Company’s privacy policy, the Company shall, as far as practicable, notify all of the Users, counsellors and other Platform users that there is a new privacy policy.
5. This Privacy Policy and each edition of the Company’s privacy policy are intended to and does create contractual and legal rights regarding the relevant parties, including the Company, the Users, the counsellors and the other Platform users.
K. Confidentiality
1. All communication between each User and that User’s Moodie(s) is strictly confidential.
2. The record of information relevant to the communication between each User and that User’s Moodie(s) is stored in a secure location by the Company.
3. Under the following circumstances the Company has a right to disclose confidential information concerning User(s), counsellor(s) and/or other Platform user(s):-
a. where such person permit(s) the Company to release the confidential information;
b. where such person is involved in a medical or other emergency, and the Company considers it appropriate to disclose the confidential information to the relevant medical personnel(s), emergency contact(s) and/or hotline(s);
c. where research(es), management or financial audit(s), and/or programme evaluation(s) is/are being conducted in relation to the Company, and confidential information where revealed does not allow any third party or third parties to identify the relevant person;
d. where a court order is received by the Company obligating disclosure of confidential information;
e. where a User reveals information which, in that User’s Moodie’s judgment, indicates that that User has intention of self-harm or harm against other person(s).
f. where such person reveals information that indicates the presence of child abuse and/or neglect;
g. where such person reveals information concerning the abuse and/or neglect of a vulnerable adult; and
h. any other situation(s) where the Company is permitted by the applicable law(s) to disclose the confidential information.