Changes to This Policy

We may update this Policy from time to time. If we do, we’ll let you know about any material changes, either by notifying you on the Site or by sending you an email. New versions of this Policy will never apply retroactively—we’ll tell you the exact date they go into effect. If you keep using Sharek after a change, that means you accept this Policy.

Who Are We?

Sharek and its and their parents, subsidiaries, affiliates, agents, representatives, consultants, employees, officers, and directors—collectively, “Sharek,” “we,” or “us”) provides services that help people fund and bring creative projects to life (our “Services”). Our main service is a funding platform for creative projects. We are a crowdfunding platform based in The Sultanate of Oman. 

How This Policy Applies

This Policy describes the information we collect from you, how we use that information and our legal basis for doing so. It also covers whether and how that information may be shared and your rights and choices regarding the information you provide to us. We use cookies and similar technologies, as described in our Cookie Policy.   

By using the Services offered by Sharek, you’re acknowledging you have agreed to our Terms of Use and that you have read and understood this Privacy Policy and our Cookie Policy.  

What We Collect and Receive

In order for you to create an account on Sharek and use our Services, we need to collect and process certain information. Depending on your use of the Services, which may include:  

1. Information you provide by completing forms on Sharek — your name, email and postal addresses, telephone number, country of residence, login, and password details. We may ask for this information if you register as a user of the Services, subscribe to our newsletters, upload or submit content through Sharek, or if you contact us.   
   
   
2. information you provide for identity verification purposes when launching a project, including your legal name, business name and Tax ID for business entities, and date of birth. In some cases, our payment processor will request that you provide a secure upload of an identity document (such as your passport, driver’s license or other government-issued ID) to Sharek.   
   
3. Details of any requests or transactions you make through the Services. Sharek partners with other institutions (Banks) for payment processing, and the payment information you submit is collected and used by them in accordance with their privacy policies (Read Banks privacy policy). Sharek doesn’t store your payment information apart from the last four digits of your credit card or bank account (as applicable), expiration date, and country, which we require for tax, government regulatory, and security purposes.  
   
   
4. Information about your activity on and interaction with Sharek, including use of our mobile apps (such as your IP address, the type of device or browser you use, and your actions on the Site).   
   
   
5. Information about the ways people visit and interact with our Site, in the form of traffic analytics. You can opt out of being included in Google Analytics. For more information about our use of data analytics to protect and improve our Services, see our Cookie Policy.   
   
   
6. Communications you send to us (for example, when you ask for support, send us questions or comments, or report a problem).   
   
   
7. Information that you submit on or to Sharek in the form of comments, contributions to discussions, or messages to other users; and the email address associated with your Platform account, if you choose to sign up using your Facebook credentials. Sharek will also request permission to access your name, profile picture, and friend list (these permissions are governed by Facebook’s privacy policies and can be managed through your Facebook privacy settings). We never post anything to your Facebook, Twitter, or other third-party accounts without your permission.   
   
   
8. Demographic information—such as your age, gender identity, sexual orientation, race, and ethnicity—that you have the option to provide to us after giving your consent to the processing of those personal data in order to help Sharek equitably support all creators and represent a diverse population in our research.    

You may decline to provide us with your information. However, this will limit your ability to register for an account or use our Services. You may pledge to a project as a guest by providing only an email address. However, to adjust your pledge, save payment details for future pledges, make project comments and take most other actions on our Site, you will need to finish creating an account. You may review, change or remove your information through your account settings. 

How We Use This Information 

We use the information we collect for the following purposes:   

1. To keep your account secure and protect our Services (including to verify the identities of creators and prevent fraud and abuse).   
   
   
2. To enable us to provide you with our Services, and to improve and promote our Services.   
   
   
3. To create and administer your account, contact you, and customize your experience on Sharek (for example, to show you projects that we think may interest you based on your previous use); and   
   
   
4. To track and analyze use of the Services so that we can improve how Sharek is performing and provide users with the best experience possible.

How This Information Is Shared   

Information that’s shared publicly  

When you create an account, we create a basic profile page for you on Sharek, containing your username, the date the account was created, and a list of projects you have backed or launched.  By default, your profile is private, and you can choose to make it public in your account settings.  Your username appears with the comments you post and messages you send on Sharek and, if your profile is set to public, people can click your username to view it. If you make your profile public, others will be able to see the following things:   

1. The account username you select, and the date the account was created; o Any information you choose to add to your profile (like a picture, bio, or your location).   
2. Projects you’ve backed (but not pledge amounts or rewards chosen).   
3. Projects you’ve created.   
4. Comments you’ve posted on Sharek; and   
5. If you have “Liked” a project update.   

If you would like to have a public profile, but don’t want others to see your name or profile image on a project’s Community tab, you may choose an account image or name that is not identifiable (e.g., CatLuvr88). You can modify or delete certain information associated with your account (such as your username, profile image, biography and location) from your account settings, and you can change your privacy settings if you want to make your profile private or adjust the default settings.  

Creators are also asked to verify their identities before launching a project. Once this has been done, the creator’s Verified Name will be publicly displayed on their account profile and on any projects they launch.   

Information that isn’t shared publicly.   

The following data will not be publicly displayed or revealed to other users:  

1. Any payment information you provide.   
2. Your password details.   
3. Your IP address.   
4. Your phone number.   
5. Your date of birth and other identity verification documentation (for creators). 
6. Private profile information, in accordance with your preferences; and  
7. Communications you send to us (for example, when you ask for support, send us questions or comments, or report a problem).   
8. Information that’s shared with trusted third-party services   

We may share your information with certain trusted third-party services to help us provide, improve, promote, or protect Sharek’s Services (like when we partner with payment processors, or use services that help us manage our ads on other sites). When we share data with third-party services that support our delivery of the Sharek Services, we require that they use your information only for the purposes we’ve authorized, and that they protect your personal information at least to the same standards we do. We may also share information that’s aggregated and anonymized in a way that it doesn’t directly identify you.   

Information that’s shared with creators and collaborators   

1. When you back a project, the project’s creator will know your username, the amount you have pledged, and the reward you have selected. Creators never receive backers’ credit card details or other payment information.   
2. If a project you have backed is successfully funded, the creator will receive the email address associated with your Sharek account. They may also send you a survey requesting information needed to provide your reward. (For instance, they may need your mailing address) Any information you provide in such surveys will be received by the creator.    
3. Creators are required to keep backer information confidential, except as strictly necessary to communicate with backers directly and fulfill rewards. Creators should not ask for personal information that isn’t necessary to provide your reward and should never request sensitive personal information such as your Social Security number or payment information. Contact us at support@Sharek.com if you receive a request for information that seems inappropriate or excessive.   
4. Collaborators are third parties that creators can appoint to help manage their project. These collaborators may be able to access the information available to creators (including backers’ names, email addresses, pledge amounts, reward selections, messages, and survey responses),   
5. and are required to treat backers’ personal information with the same care and respect as creators are.   
6. Creators and their collaborators may also receive routine traffic analytics about their project pages.   

Information that’s shared to protect Sharek and comply with the law.  

We do reserve the right to disclose personal information when we believe that doing so is reasonably necessary to comply with the law or law enforcement, to prevent fraud or abuse, or to protect Sharek’s legal rights, property, or the safety of Sharek, its employees, users, or others.   

Links to other websites and services   

Our Site may include links to other websites or services whose privacy practices may differ from Sharek’s. When you use a link to an external site or service, the privacy policy and data processing disclosures for that site or service governs.   

Retention   

We will retain your information as long as your account is active, as necessary to provide you with the Services or as otherwise set forth in this Policy. We will also retain and use this information as necessary for the purposes set out in this Policy and to the extent necessary to comply with our legal obligations, resolve disputes, enforce our agreements and protect Sharek’s legal rights.   

We also collect and maintain aggregated, anonymized or pseudonymized information which we may retain indefinitely to protect the safety and security of our Site, improve our Services or comply with legal obligations.   

Data Transfers   

Because Sharek is a Sultanate of Oman-based company, your information will be collected and processed in the Sultanate of Oman. The Sultanate of Oman has its own laws governing data protection and government access to information. The rules that protect your personal information under the Sultanate of Oman law may be different than in your home country. If you choose to use the Services, you need to agree to our Terms of Use, which set out the contract between Sharek and its users.   

Your Rights   

You can request a downloadable copy of your personal data from Sharek from your account settings page. To modify or delete the personal information you’ve provided to us, please log in and update your profile. You may also delete your account from your account settings page. We   

may retain certain information as required by law or as necessary for our legitimate business purposes. 

Email and Mobile Notifications      

We want to communicate with you only if you want to hear from us. We try to keep emails to a minimum and give you the ability to opt into any marketing communications we send. We will send you email relating to your transactions on Sharek. You may also elect to receive certain marketing email communications, in accordance with your preferences, and from which you may opt out at any time by adjusting your notification settings. If you download the Sharek app, you can manage the notifications you receive on your mobile device in your profile settings. We’ll also send you service-related announcements when it’s necessary to do so.   

Security   

We take security seriously, and the security of your personal data is important to us. We follow industry-standard practices to protect the data we collect and maintain, including using Transport Layer Security (TLS) to encrypt information as it travels over the internet. No method of transmission over the internet or electronic storage is completely secure, so Sharek cannot guarantee its absolute security. Your account information is protected by a password, which you should choose carefully and keep secure. We encourage all users to enable two-factor authentication in account settings to further protect their account.   

We have a Security Incident Response Team (SIRT) and protocol in place in the event of a data breach. We encourage the responsible disclosure of vulnerabilities of our Services by emailing security@Sharek.com, and we will invite valid disclosures to our bug bounty program. Data Protection Officer   

To contact our Data Protection Officer, please email dpo@sharek.om.   

Children    

People under 18 (or the legal age in your jurisdiction) are not permitted to use Sharek on their own. Sharek does not knowingly collect any personal information from children under the age of 16 and children under 16 are not permitted to register for an account or use our Services. If you believe that a child has provided us with personal information, please contact us at support@Sharek.com. If we become aware that a child under age 16 has provided us with personally identifiable information, we’ll delete it.   

Updated: 1/11/2022