Privacy Policy

Introduction

Welcome to Helpkey ("we," "our," or "us"). We are committed to protecting your personal information and your right to privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you use our Helpkey mobile application and related services (collectively, the "Service").

By using our Service, you agree to the collection and use of information in accordance with this policy. If you do not agree with the terms of this Privacy Policy, please do not access or use our Service.

1. Information We Collect

1.1 Personal Information

We collect information that you provide directly to us, including:

• Account Information: Name, email address, phone number, profile picture, and password
• Booking Information: Travel dates, number of guests, room preferences, special requests
• Payment Information: Payment details processed securely through third-party payment processors (Razorpay). We do not store your complete credit card information.
• Location Information: Your current location to find nearby hotels and provide location-based services (with your explicit consent)
• Communication Data: Messages, inquiries, and support communications

1.2 Automatically Collected Information

We automatically collect certain information when you use our Service:

• Device Information: Device type, operating system, unique device identifiers, mobile network information
• Usage Information: Features used, actions taken, time spent, pages viewed
• Log Information: IP address, browser type, access times, referring website addresses
• Cookies and Tracking Technologies: We use cookies and similar technologies to collect and track information about your activities on our Service

2. How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect for various purposes, including:

• Service Delivery: To process bookings, send confirmations, and provide customer support
• Account Management: To create and manage your account
• Personalization: To provide personalized recommendations and improve your experience
• Location Services: To find hotels near you and provide location-based recommendations
• Payment Processing: To process transactions securely through our payment partners
• Communication: To send booking confirmations, updates, security alerts, and promotional messages (with your consent)
• Analytics: To analyze usage patterns and improve our Service
• Security: To detect, prevent, and address technical issues and fraudulent activity
• Legal Compliance: To comply with legal obligations and enforce our terms and conditions

3. Legal Basis for Processing

We process your information based on the following legal grounds:

• Contractual Necessity: To fulfill our obligations under our terms of service
• Legitimate Interests: To improve our services, prevent fraud, and ensure platform security
• Consent: When you provide explicit consent for optional features like marketing communications
• Legal Obligation: To comply with applicable laws and regulations

4. Sharing Your Information

We may share your information with the following third parties under specific circumstances:

4.1 Service Providers

• Payment Processors: Razorpay and other payment gateways to process transactions securely
• Cloud Services: Firebase (Google) for data storage, authentication, and push notifications
• Mapping Services: Google Maps API for location-based features
• Image Hosting: Cloudinary for storing and managing images
• Analytics Services: To analyze app performance and user behavior

4.2 Partner Hotels and Properties

We share necessary booking information with partner hotels and accommodations to fulfill your reservations. This includes your name, contact details, booking dates, and special requests.

4.3 Legal Requirements

We may disclose your information if required to do so by law or in response to valid requests by public authorities (e.g., court orders, government regulations).

4.4 Business Transfers

In the event of a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets, your information may be transferred to the new owner.

4.5 With Your Consent

We may share your information with third parties for additional purposes with your explicit consent.

5. Data Security

We implement appropriate technical and organizational measures to protect your personal information against unauthorized or unlawful processing, accidental loss, destruction, or damage. However, no method of transmission over the Internet or electronic storage is 100% secure.

Our security measures include:

• Secure socket layer (SSL) encryption for data transmission
• Secure authentication protocols
• Regular security audits and updates
• Access controls and authentication requirements
• Compliance with PCI DSS standards for payment processing

6. Data Retention

We retain your personal information for as long as necessary to provide our services and fulfill the purposes outlined in this Privacy Policy. Specifically:

• Account Information: Retained while your account is active
• Booking Information: Retained for a minimum period required by law and for transaction history purposes (typically 7 years)
• Usage Data: Retained for analytics and service improvement (typically 2 years)

After the retention period, we securely delete or anonymize your information unless retention is necessary for legal or business purposes.

7. Your Privacy Rights

Depending on your location, you may have the following rights regarding your personal information:

• Access: Request a copy of your personal information
• Correction: Request correction of inaccurate or incomplete information
• Deletion: Request deletion of your personal information (subject to legal obligations)
• Restriction: Request restriction of processing your information
• Portability: Request transfer of your data to another service
• Objection: Object to processing of your information
• Withdraw Consent: Withdraw consent at any time where processing is based on consent

To exercise these rights, please contact us at helpkey.in@gmail.com. We will respond to your request within 30 days.

8. Account Deletion

You can request deletion of your account and all associated data by:

• Using the account deletion feature in the app settings, or
• Contacting our support team at helpkey.in@gmail.com

Upon deletion, your account and personal information will be permanently removed from our systems, except for information we are required to retain by law or for legitimate business purposes (e.g., transaction records for tax compliance).

9. Children's Privacy

Our Service is not intended for children under the age of 16. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 16. If you are a parent or guardian and believe your child has provided us with personal information, please contact us immediately. If we discover that we have collected information from a child under 16 without parental consent, we will take steps to remove that information from our servers.

10. Third-Party Links and Services

Our Service may contain links to third-party websites and services (e.g., hotel websites, travel partners). We are not responsible for the privacy practices of these third parties. We encourage you to review the privacy policies of any third-party sites you visit.

The following third-party services are integrated into our app:

• Google Firebase: Authentication, database, and push notifications
• Google Maps: Location services and mapping
• Razorpay: Payment processing
• Cloudinary: Image storage and management

These third parties have their own privacy policies governing the use of your information.

11. International Data Transfers

Your information may be transferred to and processed in countries other than your country of residence. These countries may have different data protection laws. When we transfer your information, we ensure appropriate safeguards are in place to protect your privacy and data rights in accordance with applicable data protection laws.

12. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update our Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of any changes by posting the new Privacy Policy on this page and updating the "Last Updated" date. We encourage you to review this Privacy Policy periodically. Your continued use of the Service after the effective date of the revised Privacy Policy constitutes your acceptance of the changes.

13. Contact Us

If you have any questions, concerns, or complaints about this Privacy Policy or our data practices, please contact us:

We will respond to your inquiries within 30 days of receipt.

14. GDPR Compliance (EU Users)

If you are a resident of the European Economic Area (EEA), you have additional rights under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR):

• Data Protection Officer: You can contact our Data Protection Officer at helpkey.in@gmail.com
• Right to Lodge a Complaint: You have the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority in your jurisdiction
• Legal Basis for Processing: We process your data based on contractual necessity, legitimate interests, consent, or legal obligations as described in Section 3