Privacy Policy

Last revised: May 6, 2023

Upcycle strives to help build a community of cycling enthusiasts who want to make connections and help out fellow cyclists. Because trust is a central part of Upcycle, we take protecting private information very seriously. This Privacy Policy describes how Upcycle Technology Inc. ("Upcycle", "we", "us") protects and processes personal information in relation to your use of the Upcycle platform.

1. Definitions

   Undefined terms in this Privacy Policy have the same definition as in our Terms of Service (“Terms”).

2. Personal Information We Collect

   We collect personal information when you use the Upcycle platform. This information includes:

   • Contact and account information: First name, last name, phone number, email address, zip code.
   • Identity verification: We use third-party services for identity verification and payment, and do not collect data related to those processes directly. When using those services, you will be subjected to their privacy policies. Those services may choose to share data with us.
   
   Information Automatically Collected by Using Our Platform

   When you use the Upcycle Platform, we automatically collect personal and other information. This may include:

   • Usage information: When viewing pages and content on our platform, we automatically collect usage data for analytics.
   • Log data and device: Details on how you use our platform, IP address and geolocation, access dates and times, hardware and software information, unique identifiers, crash data, pages you've viewed and engaged with. This data can be collected even without logging in or creating an account.
   • Cookies and similar technologies as described in our Cookies Policy
   
   Personal Information We Collect From Third Parties

   We collect personal information from other sources, such as:

   • Third-party Services: If you link, connect, or login to the Upcycle Platform with a third-party service (e.g. Google, Facebook, Apple), you direct their service to send us personal information such as your registration, profile information, picture(s), email addresses, and other data on those platforms. These are subjected to the privacy settings at those services.
   • Identification and Background Information: Users of the Upcycle Platform may go through an identity verification process with a third-party service. This process may include providing personal information such as a government-issued ID, ID number, a selfie photo, and other identifying information such as addresses or bank accounts. While we do not store this data on our end, third-party services may share this information with us. In addition, results of the verification process can also be shared with us, and these could include: gender, present and past addresses, geolocation, email addresses, phone numbers, birthdate, device information, background information like criminal records, fraud warnings, watch lists, and other similar reports.
   • Insurance: If you make a claim under our insurance policy, we will receive information regarding your claim in order to process or assess your claim. We may also ask for additional information should we require it as part of the claims process.


3. How We Use Your Personal Information

   We use, store, and process your personal information to make the experience of using Upcycle safe, secure, and to establish trust between all parties. Your information is used to allow access to our services, to make and receive payments, and to allow you to communicate with other members. In addition, your data may be used in the following ways:

   • Perform analytics and debug system issues
   • Provide customer support
   • Customize your user experience
   • Send you support or administrative messages regarding your account/listing
   • Facilitate your use and login to third-party services such as Google, Facebook, Apple, Persona, Stripe
   • Enable you to communicate with other Upcycle users
   • Facilitate transactions, including scheduling of rentals
   • Send you requests for reviews, for fraud detection/prevention, and for other purposes you authorize
   • Send you messages regarding promotions, surveys, or other promotional activities
   
   

   Your information can also be used to detect and prevent fraud, abuse, incidents, and other harmful activities. Upcycle strives to create a community built on trust and may use the data we obtain to accomplish that goal. We may use the data we obtain to combat discrimination, identify and prevent fraudulent activities, and conduct security and risk assessments. The information you provide can also be subjected to verification against other information sources, including background checks. The data can also be used to comply with our legal obligations, the law, or other legal requests, protect the well-being of the users on our platform, and members of the public.

   Your information can be used to resolve disputes, insurance claims, and can be shared with your Renter or Host.

   The data you provide us can be used in advertising and marketing. We may use the data to send you promotional messages, marketing material, and social media marketing. We may also use the data to improve and personalize your experience on our platform. We may use the data to conduct surveys, contests, sweepstakes, and other promotional activities.

   If you link a third-party account to Upcycle, some of your information on those platforms may be shared with us. Some of this information can also be on your public profile. This information could include, but are not limited to:

   • Your activities on those platforms
   • People/friends you are connected with
   • Profile picture
   • A link to your public profile on that third-party service
   • Additional profile information
   
   Payment Services

   Personal information is used to authorize third-party payment services (e.g. Stripe), and is used to:

   • Prevent fraud, abuse, money laundering, or other illicit activities
   • Comply with legal and compliance obligations
   • Enforce our Payments Terms of Service
   • Provide payment services
   • Debug/investigate payment related issues


4. Your Preferences and Data Sharing

   Your data can be shared with your consent. The information you choose to share can be used in various activities on our platform. Some of these include authorizing third-party services to access your Upcycle account's information. Where permissible, we may use your information to generate leads and traffic to Upcycle or promote our services. Personally identifiable information will not be used; all information will be de-identified prior to use in this way.

   Sharing Between Upcycle Users

   Because Upcycle connects multiple parties as part of its service, in order to help facilitate rentals, Some information has to be shared between the host and renter. This information includes:

   • When a rental request is requested and confirmed, information such as name, picture, email address, phone number, and location is shared among both parties to coordinate the rental process.
   • When communicating with another Upcycle user, your information such as name, picture, email address or phone number, and message content can be shared.
   • If there are disputes any time during the rental process and duration, information could be shared among both parties, Upcycle, and other third-party entities or services as part of the dispute process. This information could include full name, profile picture and other information, email address, phone number, location(s), rental history, payment information, the dispute outcome (if applicable and relevant), and other information we deem necessary as part of the process.
   
   

   When using our service, there are certain information you make publicly available as part of the listing process. This information is publicly accessible by any visitor of the Upcycle platform, even those without a user account. This information can include:

   • Your public profile page, which includes your profile picture, name (or other forms of your name such as initials or first name and last initial), location (city or zip), description
   • Your listings, which includes bicycle (or other equipment) information, pictures of the equipment, description, specifications, location of the equipment
   • Your reviews, ratings, or other publicly available feedback
   • Your contributions and content on publicly available Upcycle platforms, such as forums, blogs, and other social media posts you choose to share
   
   

   Publicly available information on our platform may be indexed by third-party service such as search engines and web crawlers. In some circumstances, you can opt out of this feature.

   Complying with the Law, Responding to Legal Requests, and Protecting Our Rights

   If requested by courts, the government, law enforcement agencies, or other public, tax, or governing authorities, we are required by law to disclose your information. In order to comply with lawful requests, we will disclose information to the extent that is necessary and permitted by law. We will do what is necessary to comply with the law and our legal obligations, comply with valid requests by legal authorities (such as court orders), or to respond to claims against Upcycle. We will also be required to disclose information to respond to criminal investigations, alleged or suspected illegal activities, or to respond to other activities that may expose us, the host, or renter to legal or regulatory liability. Your information can also be disclosed to enforce our Terms of Services and other policies, as well as protect the rights or personal safety of all users of Upcycle, employees, or members of the public.

   We may notify members of Upcycle about legal requests unless providing such notifications is not prohibited by the legal process, is expressly prohibited by court order, or in cases we believe may not be helpful, is ineffective, or can be harmful to any party involved.

   Where it is legally required, we may disclose your information (host or renter) to tax or government agencies for the purposes of those authorities' determination of proper compliance with tax obligations and laws. These obligations could include Upcycle's tax obligations on fees and the host's obligations on rental income. The information disclosed can include your name, address, rental income, date of birth, email address, phone number, and other personal information required by tax authorities.

   The data you provide us can be shared with other service providers, and they can share it with their service providers as well. Some of this data can include your name, address, email address, phone number, location, and other personal information. This data can be used by service providers to check against public databases, do background checks, investigate fraud/prevent fraud, and do other security investigations. Upcycle may use this data to debug issues, improve our platform, do maintenance on our systems, and perform analytics. We can also use this data to integrate with third-party API services as part of the Upcycle platform, such as payment services, identity verification, and analytics. The information you provide can be used as part of the insurance claim process and shared with relevant third parties we use to process claims.



5. Third-Party Integrations and Services

   Upcycle may integrate and use other third-party services. Upcycle does not own or control these services. When you interact with them or choose to use their service, you choose what you provide to them and how you use them. This data, unless also shared with Upcycle, is not shared with us directly and you are subject to the privacy policies of those respective services.



6. Your Rights

   You may manage your personal information on our platform by going into your account page and changing your profile and settings. If you are connected to our platform through third-party services, you can choose to unlink those services in your settings as well.

   In some jurisdictions and where it is legally permissible, you may request a copy of your information. This information can be provided to you or another entity with your permission.

   In some jurisdictions, you may request that your personal information be deleted from our systems. If your account is deleted, closed, suspended, or terminated, we may:

   • Retain some of your information as long as it is necessary to a) comply with legal obligations such as tax purposes, auditing, and other legal obligations b) prevent illegal activities such as fraud, money laundering, or other illicit activities c) ensure the safety of hosts, renters, employees, or the public
   • Keep the public information you share with others or on our platform
   • Keep backup copies because we back up and protect our data on a regular basis. These copies may take some time to be removed completely.



7. Security

   Upcycle cannot guarantee the safety and security of your information, but we are constantly implementing the latest security measures on our platform. We take steps to ensure that all sensitive data is stored and encrypted properly, using modern services and practices from our providers.



8. Changes to this Privacy Policy

   We reserve the right to make changes to this Privacy Policy at any time. When this policy is updated, you may see the "Last revised" section at the top of this page to see when it was modified. Any changes to this Privacy Policy becomes effective when it is updated unless otherwise stated. If there are significant changes, you will be notified at least thirty days before the effective date. If you do not agree with the Policy, you may request your account to be closed. If you do not close your account and continue to use our platform, you will be subject to the updated Privacy Policy.

9. Contact

   If you have questions, comments, or complaints about our Privacy Policy, please use the contact page to get in touch with us.