1. Overview
FlickyTales Technologies Pvt. Ltd. (“FlickyTales,” “we,” “our,” or “us”) is committed to protecting and respecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy describes how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your personal information when you use our Platform.
By using the Platform, you consent to the data practices described in this policy. We are registered under the Information Technology Act, 2000 and comply with applicable Indian data protection laws. We also follow principles aligned with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) for users in the European Economic Area.
This policy should be read alongside our Terms of Service and Cookie Policy, both of which form part of our legal framework with you.
2. Information We Collect
2.1 Information You Provide
- Account information: Name, email address, phone number, date of birth, and profile photograph when you register.
- Identity verification: Government-issued photo ID (for Photographers), selfie for biometric verification, and professional credentials.
- Payment information: Bank account details, UPI ID, or card information (stored and processed by our PCI DSS-compliant payment partners; we do not store raw card numbers).
- Booking information: Session dates, locations, descriptions, special requirements, and communication history.
- Portfolio content: Photographs, videos, and descriptions uploaded by Photographers.
- Reviews and ratings: Feedback you provide about Photographers or sessions.
- Communications: Messages exchanged through our in-app chat, emails to our support team, or feedback forms.
2.2 Information Collected Automatically
- Device information: IP address, device type, operating system, browser type and version, unique device identifiers.
- Usage data: Pages visited, features used, time spent, links clicked, and search queries within the Platform.
- Location data: General geographic location derived from IP address. Precise GPS location is only collected with your explicit permission, and only when using real-time tracking features (such as live Photographer tracking during a session).
- Cookies and tracking data: As described in our Cookie Policy.
- Log data: Server logs, error reports, and performance data.
2.3 Information from Third Parties
- Social login providers (Google, Apple) if you choose to sign in this way.
- Payment processors confirming transaction status.
- Identity verification services providing verification results.
- Analytics partners providing aggregated usage insights.
3. How We Use Your Information
We use your personal information for the following purposes:
- Providing our service: Creating and managing your account, processing Bookings, facilitating communication between Users and Photographers, processing payments, and delivering Notifications.
- Safety and trust: Verifying Photographer identities, conducting background checks, detecting and preventing fraud, abuse, and unauthorized activity, and enforcing our Terms.
- Customer support: Responding to your inquiries, resolving disputes, and providing technical assistance.
- Improving the Platform: Analyzing usage patterns, running A/B tests, conducting research, and developing new features.
- Communications: Sending transactional emails (booking confirmations, payment receipts), service updates, and, where you have opted in, promotional messages about FlickyTales.
- Legal compliance: Meeting our obligations under applicable laws, responding to lawful requests from authorities, and enforcing our legal rights.
- Personalization: Showing you relevant Photographer recommendations, tailoring search results, and remembering your preferences.
We process your data on the following legal bases: (a) contract performance, (b) compliance with legal obligations, (c) our legitimate interests in operating and improving the Platform, and (d) your consent where required.
5. Data Retention
We retain your personal information for as long as your account is active or as needed to provide our services. Specific retention periods are:
- Account data: Retained for the duration of your account and for 3 years after account closure, to allow for dispute resolution and legal compliance.
- Booking records: Retained for 7 years for financial and legal compliance purposes.
- Chat messages: Retained for 2 years from the date of the conversation.
- Payment transaction data: Retained for 8 years as required by Indian financial regulations.
- KYC / identity documents: Retained for 5 years after Photographer account closure, as required by applicable anti-money-laundering regulations.
- Log data: Retained for 90 days, then anonymized.
After the applicable retention period, we securely delete or anonymize your data. You may request earlier deletion of certain data as described in Section 8.
6. Data Security
We implement industry-standard technical and organizational security measures to protect your personal information against unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, and destruction. Our measures include:
- TLS 1.3 encryption for all data in transit between your device and our servers.
- AES-256 encryption for sensitive data stored at rest.
- PCI DSS Level 1 compliance for all payment card data processing.
- Multi-factor authentication options for account access.
- Regular penetration testing and security audits by independent third parties.
- Role-based access controls limiting employee access to personal data.
- Automated anomaly detection to identify unusual activity patterns.
Despite our best efforts, no method of transmission or storage is 100% secure. In the event of a data breach that is likely to result in a risk to your rights and freedoms, we will notify you and the relevant authorities as required by law.
8. Your Rights & Choices
You have the following rights regarding your personal information. To exercise any of these rights, contact privacy@flickytales.com:
- Right of access: Request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
- Right to rectification: Correct inaccurate or incomplete personal data in your account.
- Right to erasure: Request deletion of your personal data, subject to legal retention obligations.
- Right to data portability: Receive your data in a machine-readable format.
- Right to withdraw consent: Where processing is based on consent, withdraw it at any time without affecting past processing.
- Right to opt out of marketing: Unsubscribe from promotional emails via the link in each message, or adjust settings in your account dashboard.
- Right to complain: Lodge a complaint with the relevant data protection authority in your jurisdiction.
We will respond to valid requests within 30 days. We may require identity verification before fulfilling requests that access or delete personal data.
9. Children's Privacy
The Platform is not directed to individuals under the age of 18. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe a child under 18 has provided us with personal information without parental consent, please contact us immediately at privacy@flickytales.com and we will take steps to delete such information.
Users who book photography services involving minors are responsible for obtaining appropriate parental or guardian consent prior to the session and for compliance with applicable child protection laws.
10. International Data Transfers
FlickyTales primarily operates and stores data within India. Some of our third-party service providers may process data outside India, including in the United States or the European Union.
When we transfer personal data outside India, we ensure appropriate safeguards are in place, including standard contractual clauses, adequacy decisions, or other legally recognized transfer mechanisms.
If you are located in the EEA, we rely on the adequacy of data protection standards and standard contractual clauses as the legal basis for international transfers.
11. Third-Party Services
The Platform may contain links to third-party websites, apps, or services. This Privacy Policy does not apply to those third-party services. We encourage you to review the privacy policies of any third-party service you visit.
We use the following categories of third-party services:
- Payment gateways: Razorpay, Stripe
- Cloud hosting: Amazon Web Services (AWS), Supabase
- Analytics: Google Analytics, Firebase
- Communications: Firebase Cloud Messaging, Twilio
- Maps: Google Maps Platform
- Identity verification: our authorized KYC partners
12. Changes to This Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy periodically to reflect changes in our practices, legal requirements, or Platform features. We will notify you of material changes via email or a prominent notice on the Platform at least 14 days before the change takes effect.
Your continued use of the Platform after the effective date of any change constitutes your acceptance of the updated Privacy Policy. We maintain an archive of previous versions, which you may request by contacting us.
13. Contact & Grievance
For privacy-related questions, requests, or complaints, please contact our Data Protection Officer:
- Email: privacy@flickytales.com
- Subject line: Privacy Request — [Your Name]
- Postal address: Data Protection Officer, FlickyTales Technologies Pvt. Ltd., Level 5, WeWork BKC, Mumbai, Maharashtra 400051, India
Grievance Officer (IT Act, 2000): In accordance with the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, you may contact our Grievance Officer at grievance@flickytales.com. We will acknowledge your complaint within 24 hours and resolve it within 15 days.
If you are in the EEA and are not satisfied with our response, you have the right to lodge a complaint with your local supervisory authority.