ICHAT Privacy Policy
What is ICHAT?
The ICHAT Application is a low data, non-invasive Instant Messaging Application used by Companies, Organizations and Businesses to communicate with their Staff, Agents, Associates and Service Providers on a private platform. ICHAT is a non-commercial application, this means that the Organization will supply ICHAT with a list of users that must have access to the ICHAT Application, and only these users will have the functional ability to log in and use ICHAT. ICHAT will create the unique username and Password for each user to log into to the ICHAT Application. Although anyone can download the ICHAT Application from the Google Play Store, only those with a designated Username and Password (supplied by ICHAT) will gain access to their private company Chat. No one outside of that organization can use the application to chat directly to any of these individuals linked to the specific company profile. Once the user is logged in, they can enter into one-on-one chats with users or create Groups for ease of information flow.
Information We Collect
The types of information we receive and collect depend on how you use our Services. We require certain of Your Account Information in accordance with our Terms to deliver our Services and without this we will not be able to provide our Services to you. For example, you must provide your Name, Surname, Employer details, Employee number, mobile phone number to create an account to use our Services.
Our Services have optional features which, if used by you, require us to collect additional information to provide such features. You will be notified of such a collection, as appropriate. If you choose not to provide the information needed to use a feature, you will be unable to use the feature. For example, you cannot share your Precise Location Information with your contacts if you do not enable location sharing on your device. Permissions can be managed through your device-based settings on both Android and iOS devices.
Information You Provide
Your Account Information. You must provide your mobile phone number and a profile name of your choice to create a ICHAT account. If you do not provide us with this information, you will not be able to create an account to use our Services. You can add other optional information to your account, such as a profile picture, and “about” information.
User Content
Your Messages, Media within Messages, and Calls: We offer privacy linked to the Google firebase servers. Typically, your messages are stored on Google Firebase Se4rvers that is protected with top line security. No messages are stored on the devise itself. If a message cannot be delivered, we keep it on our servers for up to 30 days while we try to deliver it. If a message is still undelivered after 30 days, we delete it. When a user sends media within a message, we store that media for up to 30 days on our servers to aid in more efficient delivery, such as if recipients choose to forward the media. We cannot see the media.
Status Information. Your status (online or last seen) information is shared at all times.
Precise Location Information. We enable you to share your Precise Location Information from your device when you choose to use location-related features, like when you decide to share your current location with, or send live location to your contacts, or view locations nearby. Precise Location Information that you share with your contacts in your chats is not Encrypted.
You may also provide content that is not Encrypted which means that we and any user on the same company profile can see it. This includes (but not limited to) your profile picture, your “about” information and names and descriptions of your groups.
Your Connections.
You can access all company related contacts in the ALL-Users tab on the ICHAT Application. Only users that are listed on the ALL-USERS Tab can communicate or will have access to the ICHAT Application. We also collect information on users who contact you that are not in your device address book and any users you have blocked or who have blocked you.
Your Group Information.
You can create, join, or get added to groups, and such groups and lists get associated with your account. You give your groups a name. You can provide a group profile picture or description. We also collect information about when groups are created or updated.
Customer Support Information and Other Communications.
When you contact us for customer support or otherwise communicate with us, you may provide us with information related to your use of our Services, including copies of your messages, any other information you deem helpful in order for us to understand and resolve your query, and how to contact you (e.g., an email address). For example, you may send us an email with information relating to app performance or other issues. We also collect information on how you use our customer support features and any feedback you give us on the customer support experience.
Account Access Information.
When you sign up or log-in to our Service, we verify your Email and Password. Your company provide all the other information based on your employee information. You can also add a PIN to your device to unlock it for additional security.
Automatically Collected Information
Usage Information.
We collect information about your usage of our Services. This includes collecting information about your activity (including how you use our Services), how you interact with others using our Services (including when you interact with a business), and the time, frequency, and duration of your activities. This also includes information about the features you use like our messaging (and integrated applications), calling, Status, groups or business features; whether you are online; timestamps related to your use such as when you last used our Services (your “last seen”) and the times you send and receive calls and messages; and when you last updated your “about” information.
Log and Troubleshooting Information.
We collect information about how our Services are performing when you use them, like service-related diagnostic and performance information. This information includes log files, timestamps, diagnostic or crash data, website performance logs and error messages or reports.
Device And Connection Information.
We collect device and connection-specific information when you install, access, or use our Services. This includes information such as hardware model, operating system information, battery level, signal strength, app version, browser information, mobile network, connection information including whether you are using Wi-Fi or cellular data, mobile operator or internet service provider (ISP), language and time zone, IP address, device operations information and identifiers (including identifiers unique to Trimad Recruitment Company Products associated with the same device or account).
Contact:
Should you have any queries or questions please feel free to contact ICHAT on the below email address:
office@rudolfgoosen.co.za
General Location Information.
Even if you do not choose to use our precise location-related features (see Information Shared by You and by Us with Third Parties), we use IP addresses and other information like phone number area codes, to estimate your general location (e.g., country).
Cookies.
We collect information using cookies to operate and provide our web-based Services and website. Learn more about how we use cookies to provide you, our Services.
User Choices.
We collect information about your in-app settings, privacy settings and records about when you accepted our Terms. Only you are in control of your privacy settings which can be used to change who can see your “last seen”, profile photo, “about” information, Status updates, read receipts or add you to groups. We also collect information about whether you have enabled push notifications and whether you wish to send disappearing messages.
Authentication Information.
To verify and grant appropriate authorisations as you use the Services, we supply you with your designated email and Password. We also reserve the right to activate or deactivate any user account based on our own assessment.
Information Third Parties Provide About You
Information Others Provide About You.
We receive information about you from other users. For example, when other users you know use our Services, they may provide your phone number if they use contact upload just as you may provide theirs. We require each of these users to have lawful rights to collect, use, and share your information before providing any information to us. They may also send you messages, send messages to groups to which you belong, or call you. You should keep in mind that in general any user can capture screenshots of your chats or messages or make recordings of your calls with them and send them to ICHAT or anyone else or post them on another platform.
User Reports.
Just as you can report other users, other users or third parties may also choose to report to us your interactions and your messages with them or others on our Services; for example, to report violations of our Terms or policies. When a report is submitted to us through the reporting tools, we receive information from the reporter on both the reporting user and those reported. To find out more about the information we receive when a User Report is submitted to us and what happens when a User Report is submitted, please see About blocking and reporting contacts.
The ICHAT Application is meant for confidential business use. In other words, you use the service as an employee or designated agent, associate of a Business. When you message with business workers on ICHAT, keep in mind that the content you share may be visible to several people in that business. In addition, some businesses might be working with third-party service providers (which may include Trimad Recruitment) to help manage their communications with their customers. For example, a business may give such third-party service providers access to its communications to send, store, read, manage, or otherwise process them for the business. To understand how a business processes your information, including how it might share your information with third parties or Trimad Recruitment, you should review that business’s privacy policy or contact the business directly.
Third-Party Services.
ICHAT receives information about bad actors and abuse and app verification information from anti-abuse services to promote safety, security, and integrity. For example, when ICHAT becomes aware of a fraud encouraging individuals to contact a phone number via ICHAT, they might share that phone number with ICHAT so we can investigate the ICHAT account.
We also allow you to use our Services in connection with third-party services and Trimad Recruitment Company Products. If you use our Services with such third-party services or Trimad Recruitment Company Products, we may receive information about you from them; for example, if you use the ICHAT share button on a news service to share a news article with your ICHAT contacts, groups, or broadcast lists on our Services. Please note that when you use third-party services or Trimad Recruitment Company Products, the terms and privacy policies of the company that offers those services will govern your use of those services and products.
Information Shared by You and by Us with Third Parties
You share your information as you use and communicate through our Services, and we share your information to help us operate, provide, improve, understand, customise, and support our Services.
Send Your Information to Those with Whom You Choose to Communicate. You share User Content when you communicate through our Services. You are in control of what you are sending when you send your information to the individual or business ICHAT users you choose to communicate with. Please be mindful that, once you have sent User Content to a ICHAT user, they can store or reshare it with others on and off our Services.
Information Associated with Your Account. As part of your ICHAT messaging experience and based on your privacy settings, those users who have access to your company profile on the ICHAT Application can see Your Account Information (phone number, profile photo, “about” information), and can add you to groups where this information is then potentially visible to others in the group. When you send a message to another user or to a group, your chosen profile name will become visible to the recipients of the message, including users who do not have you in their contact list. Users who have your phone number can also see your “last seen” information and your message receipts, depending on your privacy settings. You can configure your privacy settings to manage group membership, and certain information (for example, your “last seen”) available to other users. Please see our help centre for more information on how to change your privacy settings.
Third-Party Services. When you, or other users you interact with, use third-party services or other Trimad Recruitment Company Products that are linked through our Services, the providers of those services or products may receive the information about you that you or others share with them. For example, if you use a data backup service integrated with our Services (like iCloud or Google Drive), they will receive the information you share with them, such as your ICHAT messages, and if you search the web from ICHAT for a group profile picture, the search engine provider will receive the search term you use. If you interact with a third-party service or other Trimad Recruitment Company Products through our Services, such as when you use the in-app player to play content from a third-party platform like YouTube or Facebook, information like your IP address and technical information showing that the request comes from a ICHAT app, may be provided to the provider of such service or products. Please note that when you use third-party services or other Trimad Recruitment Company Products, their own terms and privacy policies will govern your use of those services and products.
Third-Party Service Providers. We work with third-party service providers to help us provide our Services.
When we share information with third-party service providers in this capacity, we require them to use your information on our behalf in accordance with our instructions and terms.
We work with the following diverse types of third-party service providers:
telecommunications technology providers to send you SMS messages, or call you, to verify your account. To be able to provide these services, these providers receive Your Account Information (phone number) and Account Access Information (verification codes to enable you to verify a new phone number or device connected to your account). The providers we currently use are located in South Africa, Sweden, the Netherlands, the UK, and Pakistan.
a content safety technology service provider that helps us to maintain the safety and integrity of the Services by detecting and helping us to prioritise harmful material for our reviewers to assess. To provide these services, this provider receives certain images from User Reports (images), Your Account Information (profile picture) and Your Group Information (group profile picture). The provider we currently use is located in Pakistan.
a location data provider to enable you to share your location or a nearby place with other ICHAT users. To be able to provide these services, this provider receives Precise Location Information (your current location and other locations you choose on the map). The provider we currently use is located in Pakistan.