Privacy Policy for The Travel Scout Program

1. Information We Collect

a. Information You Provide Directly

• Contact Information: Name, email address, phone number, physical address.
• Account Information: Username, password.
• Profile Information (Content Creators): Portfolio links, social media handles, skills, interests, and biographical information.
• Profile Information (Hosts): Business name, business registration details, website URL, location details, services offered.
• Communication Content: Any information you provide when you communicate with us via email, WhatsApp, or our contact forms.
• Verification Information: Copies of ID or Passport for age verification purposes.

b. Information Collected Automatically

• Usage Data: Information about how you interact with our Platform, such as pages visited, features used, time spent on pages, and clickstream data.
• Device Information: IP address, device type, operating system, browser type, unique device identifiers.
• Location Data: General location information derived from your IP address.

c. Information from Third Parties

• Analytics Providers: Google Analytics provides us with data about user behavior on our Platform.
• Payment Processors: Paynow.co.zw may provide us with transaction details related to any payments made through their service.

2. How We Use Your Information

• To Provide and Maintain Our Services: To operate, maintain, and improve the functionality of the Travel Scout Program, including managing user accounts, facilitating matching between Content Creators and Hosts, and processing assignments.
• To Facilitate Communication: To enable communication between Content Creators and Hosts, and between you and us (e.g., for customer support, updates, and notifications).
• For Matching and Assignments: To effectively match Content Creators with Hosts based on profiles, skills, and assignment requirements.
• For Marketing and Personalization: To send you promotional communications, newsletters, and personalized content and offers that may be of interest to you. This includes using cookies for marketing and personalization purposes.
• For Analytics and Improvement: To understand how users interact with our Platform, analyze trends, track usage, and gather demographic information to improve our services, user experience, and Platform performance (using Google Analytics).
• For Legal Compliance and Security: To comply with legal obligations, enforce our Terms of Use, prevent fraud, resolve disputes, and protect the rights, property, or safety of The Travel Scout Program, our users, or others.
• Age Verification: To verify that users meet the minimum age requirements and to ensure compliance with our policy regarding minors.

3. How We Share Your Information

With Hosts and Content Creators:

• For Content Creators: We share relevant profile information and application details with Hosts to facilitate matching and assignment agreements.
• For Hosts: We share relevant business and assignment details with Content Creators to enable them to apply for and fulfill assignments.

With Service Providers

• Data Storage: Airtable for database management and storage.
• Payment Processing: Paynow.co.zw for processing payments.
• Email Marketing: Beehive for sending email communications.
• Customer Support: WhatsApp for customer support interactions.
• Hosting: Pory.io for hosting our Platform.
• Analytics: Google Analytics for website analytics. These service providers have access to personal information only to perform their functions and are obligated not to disclose or use it for other purposes.
• For Legal Reasons: We may disclose your information if required to do so by law or in response to valid requests by public authorities (e.g., a court order or government agency).
• Business Transfers: In connection with any merger, sale of company assets, financing, or acquisition of all or a portion of our business by another company, your information may be transferred.

4. Data Storage and Security

5. Data Retention

6. Your Rights and Choices

• Access and Update: You can access and update your personal information by logging into your account or by contacting us via the contact form on our Platform.
• Deletion: You may request the deletion of your personal data by contacting us via the contact form. We will delete your data unless we are required to retain it by law or for legitimate business purposes.
• Opt-Out of Marketing Communications: You can opt-out of receiving marketing emails from us by following the unsubscribe instructions provided in those emails or by contacting us.
• Cookie Preferences: You can manage your cookie preferences through your browser settings. Most browsers allow you to refuse or accept cookies.

7. Cookies and Other Tracking Technologies

• Essential/Strictly Necessary Cookies: These cookies are essential for the operation of our Platform, enabling core functionalities like security, network management, and accessibility.
• Performance/Analytics Cookies: These cookies (including Google Analytics) help us understand how visitors interact with our Platform by collecting and reporting information anonymously. This helps us improve the way our Platform works.
• Functionality Cookies: These cookies allow our Platform to remember choices you make (such as your user name, language, or the region you are in) and provide enhanced, more personal features.
• Marketing and Personalization Cookies: These cookies are used to deliver advertisements more relevant to you and your interests, and to personalize your experience on our Platform.

8. Children's Privacy

9. Changes to This Privacy Policy

10. Contact Us