Booka, Inc. ("Booka," "we," "our," or "us") builds the operating system that lets beauty, health, and wellness professionals spend less time on admin and more time with their clients. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, and disclose personal information through booka.com, our mobile application, and related services (collectively, the "Booka Services").
Unlike a Privacy Policy that only covers the business side of a platform, this Policy applies to both (a) Providers, who use Booka to run their business, and (b) Clients, who create a Booka Profile to book appointments with Providers, whether through the Booka Marketplace or through a Provider's own standalone website. Booka Clients hold a real account with Booka, not simply a booking record kept by a Provider, so this Policy addresses how we handle personal information for both groups. If you are a Client with questions about information a specific Provider has collected about you outside of your Booka Profile (such as service notes or intake forms that Provider maintains), please also consult that Provider directly, since the Provider is the party responsible for that business-specific information.
This Policy applies to information collected on the Booka Services, in email, text, and other electronic messages between you and Booka, and through interactions with Booka advertising or applications that link to this Policy. Please read this Policy carefully. By accessing or using the Booka Services, you agree to this Privacy Policy.
1. THE INFORMATION WE COLLECT
We obtain information about you through the means discussed below when we provide the Booka Services.
a. Information You Provide Directly to Us
We may collect information that you provide directly to us through your use of the Booka Services, such as when you register for a Booka account, communicate with us or other Users, submit content to us, subscribe to newsletters or marketing content, or authorize us to access other information.
If you are a Provider, this may include:
Identifiers and Contact Information, such as your name, home or business address, telephone number, email address, license numbers, Social Security Number or Taxpayer ID, and username and password.
Business Information, such as your business type, business address, business phone number, email address, cosmetology or other license number, business URL, information about your services (name, description, duration, and price), business hours, payment preferences, cancellation policies, and pictures or videos from your work portfolio or that you otherwise choose to publish through the Booka Services.
Financial Information, such as your bank account or payout information, collected through our payment processing partner, Stripe, to assist in making or receiving payments.
Client and Business Records, such as the client lists, service notes, intake forms, photos, and appointment records you create or upload to run your business, which we hold as your service provider (see Section 3 for more on how we treat this information).
If you are a Client, this may include:
Identifiers and Contact Information, such as your name, phone number, email address, and username and password for your Booka Profile.
Booking and Transaction Information, such as the appointments you book, the Providers you book with, payment method details (processed through Stripe), booking history, cancellation history, and any reviews or ratings you submit.
Information You Provide to a Provider, such as intake forms, service preferences, or notes you share directly with a Provider. This information belongs to that Provider's business records; see Section 3 below for how we treat it.
b. Information From Other Sources
We may collect information about you from other sources. For example, we may ask for and collect supplemental information from non-affiliated parties to verify your identity or for fraud or safety protection purposes. Other Users may also provide information about you, such as if a Provider invites you to book an appointment or a Client leaves a review about a Provider.
Payment Processing. In connection with our payment processing partner, Stripe, we may collect certain payment information you have provided to Stripe, including payment card number, expiration date, authorization number or security code, and Taxpayer ID, for purposes of providing the Booka Services and for troubleshooting and support.
c. Information We Collect Automatically
Device/Usage Information. We and our vendors may use cookies, web beacons, and other tracking technologies to collect information about the computers or devices you use to access the Booka Services, including browser type, ISP or operating system, domain name, access time, referring or exit pages, page views, IP address, unique device identifiers, and device type. Where we use analytics or advertising vendors for these purposes, we will identify them here as they are adopted. We may also track when and how frequently you access or use the Booka Services. We use this information to analyze and improve the Booka Services and, to the extent we use advertising vendors, to assist in determining relevant advertising and evaluate the success of our advertising and marketing campaigns.
Cookies and Other Electronic Technologies. We and our vendors may use cookies, clear GIFs, pixel tags, and similar technologies to better understand user behavior, personalize preferences, perform research and analytics, and improve the Booka Services. These technologies may tailor the Booka Services to your needs, save your password in password-protected areas, track pages you visit, and help us compile usage statistics. See the Targeted Advertising and Analytics and Your Choices sections below for more information and your options.
Precise Geolocation Information. With your consent, we may collect information about the precise location of your device. You may stop the collection of precise location information at any time; see the Your Choices section below.
d. Information We Derive
We may derive information or draw inferences about you based on the information we collect. For example, we may infer what type of Provider you are based on the services you offer, or the city where a Client lives based on their IP address.
2. HOW WE USE THE INFORMATION WE COLLECT
We use information for business and commercial purposes, such as:
To provide the Booka Services, including registering and managing accounts, operating a Client's unified Booka Profile and consolidated bookings page across every Provider that Client has booked with, processing transactions and bookings, and connecting Providers with the Clients they serve;
To respond to questions and inquiries, including customer support and troubleshooting;
To communicate with you, including sending emails or texts about products, features, and Services that may interest you;
To manage and remember your preferences and personalize your experience;
To analyze and improve the Booka Services and develop new products, features, and services;
To administer surveys, sweepstakes, promotions, or contests;
To verify your identity and, where applicable, license or credential information for our fraud-prevention and safety procedures;
To comply with our legal obligations or as permitted by law;
To protect the safety and integrity of our Users, employees, other parties, members of the public, and the Booka Services;
To prevent fraud and enforce our legal terms; and
To administer and troubleshoot the Booka Services.
3. WHEN WE DISCLOSE THE INFORMATION WE COLLECT
We may disclose information in the following situations:
Affiliates. We may disclose personal information among our affiliates.
Consent. We disclose personal information to third parties when we have your consent or you intentionally direct us to do so.
Vendors and Service Providers. We provide access to your information to vendors, service providers, contractors, and consultants who perform services on our behalf, including data storage, billing, payment processing (such as Stripe), product content and features, customer service, security, and fraud prevention, and, to the extent we engage them, marketing analytics vendors.
Provider Access to Client Information. A Provider can see the booking history, contact information, and account activity a Client has generated with that specific Provider. A Provider cannot see a Client's booking history, contact preferences, or account activity with any other Provider on the Booka Services. Providers may only use Client contact information made available to them through the Booka Services to communicate with Clients who have an existing booking relationship with that Provider, consistent with Booka's Terms of Service.
Protection of Booka and Others. We may disclose information if we believe in good faith that doing so is necessary to protect or defend the rights, safety, or property of Booka or other parties, respond to requests for customer service, or protect the rights, property, or personal safety of Booka, its agents and affiliates, its employees, Users, and/or the public.
Law Enforcement and Legal Proceedings. We may disclose information if we believe in good faith that doing so is required by, or in accordance with, applicable law, regulation, or legal process, such as a warrant, subpoena, or court order.
Professional Advisors. We disclose personal information to our legal, financial, insurance, and other professional advisors where necessary to obtain advice or otherwise protect and manage our business interests.
Business Transfer. We may disclose information in connection with or during negotiation of any merger, sale of company assets, financing, or acquisition of all or part of our business.
Aggregated Information. We may disclose aggregated or de-identified information that cannot reasonably be used to identify you. We will not attempt to re-identify such information except as permitted by law.
All of the above categories exclude text messaging originator opt-in data and consent; this information will not be shared with any third parties.
4. TARGETED ADVERTISING AND ANALYTICS
To the extent we engage others to deliver advertising targeted to your interests on other companies' sites or mobile apps, or to analyze and track data, determine the popularity of content, better understand activity, or perform related services across the web and in mobile applications, those entities may use cookies, web beacons, SDKs, device identifiers, and other technologies to collect information about your use of the Booka Services and other websites and apps, including your IP address, browser and mobile network information, pages viewed, time spent on pages, links clicked, and conversion information. Some of these disclosures, if and when they occur, may be considered "sales," "sharing," or "targeted advertising" under applicable law. You can opt out of any such disclosures, or ask what advertising or analytics vendors we use at a given time, by emailing privacy@booka.com. You can also learn more about interest-based ads generally, or opt out of having your web browsing information used for behavioral advertising by companies participating in the Digital Advertising Alliance, at www.aboutads.info/choices. Your mobile device may also include a feature allowing you to opt out of certain information collected through mobile apps for behavioral advertising purposes.
If we share identifiers, such as email addresses and phone numbers, with advertising partners who translate that information into a unique identifier used to show more relevant ads across the web and in mobile apps, you may opt out of these disclosures by emailing privacy@booka.com.
5. YOUR CHOICES
You have certain choices with respect to your information:
Profile Information. You can update certain profile information by accessing your account.
Marketing Communications. You can unsubscribe from marketing emails or texts by following the directions in those messages. If you unsubscribe, we may still send administrative or transactional communications regarding the Booka Services.
Cookies and Analytics. As described above, we and any partners we engage may process personal information to serve advertisements on third-party properties. You can turn off cookies used for ad targeting as described in the State Privacy Rights section below. Most web browsers accept cookies by default; you can usually adjust your browser settings to remove or reject cookies, though this may affect the availability and functionality of the Booka Services.
Precise Location Information. If you consent to our collection of location information from your mobile device, you can stop this collection at any time by changing your device settings.
Mobile Push Notifications. With your permission, we may send push notifications to your mobile device. You can deactivate these at any time by changing your device's notification settings.
6. CHILDREN'S PRIVACY
The Booka Services are not intended for children under 13 years of age, and no one under 13 may provide information to or through the Booka Services. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If we learn that we have collected or received personal information from a child under 13, we will delete that information.
Provider accounts are intended for individuals 18 years of age or older; we do not knowingly permit individuals under 18 to maintain a Provider Account without parental consent.
Residents of certain states, including California residents under 16 years of age, may have additional rights regarding the collection and sale of their personal information. See Section 9 below.
7. DATA RETENTION
We keep your information for as long as necessary for the purposes for which it is processed, after which we may delete or aggregate it. We may also retain and use information as necessary to comply with our legal obligations, resolve disputes, and enforce our agreements.
8. LINKS TO EXTERNAL SITES AND SERVICES
The Booka Services may contain links to other websites or services, including Provider websites and third-party payment or scheduling tools. We are not responsible for the content or privacy practices of those websites or services. The collection, use, and disclosure of your information through those sites is subject to their own privacy policies, not this Privacy Policy. We encourage you to review the privacy and security policies of any external site or service you visit.
9. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION FOR RESIDENTS OF CERTAIN U.S. STATES
Booka is available to Providers and Clients throughout the United States. A number of states have enacted consumer privacy laws that grant their residents certain rights and require additional disclosures ("State Privacy Laws"). If you are a resident of a state with such a law, this Section applies to you, and we will honor the rights described below to the extent required by the law of your state of residence.
Categories of Personal Information We Collect and Disclose
Below, consistent with applicable State Privacy Laws, we summarize the categories of personal information we collect, the categories of third parties to which we disclose it, and how we use each category. This reflects our practices over the preceding 12 months.
Categories of personal information we collect: identifiers (such as name, mailing address, and phone number); demographic information (such as age or date of birth, where provided); commercial information (such as booking and transaction data); internet or other electronic network activity (such as pages viewed and links clicked on the Booka Services); location information (including precise location through the Booka mobile app and general location inferred from an IP address); audio, electronic, visual, or similar information (such as portfolio photos or customer support chat transcripts); professional or employment-related information (such as a Provider's business email, phone number, address, and license number); inferences (such as the city where you live based on your IP address, or what type of Provider you are based on the services you offer); and payment information.
Categories of recipients: vendors and service providers; our corporate affiliates; law enforcement or others involved in legal proceedings; parties to whom disclosure protects the rights of Booka or others; professional advisors; parties involved in a business transfer; and, with your consent or at your direction, other third parties (such as a Provider you have booked with).
How we use personal information: to provide the Booka Services, including account servicing and analytics, customer service, auditing User interactions, detecting and preventing security incidents and fraud, bug detection and error reporting, internal research, maintaining and improving the Booka Services, operational purposes such as enabling and troubleshooting the Services, advertising and communicating with you about relevant offers, and other uses about which we notify you.
Personal Information That We "Share," "Sell," or Use for "Targeted Advertising"
To the extent any of our advertising and analytics activities constitute "sharing," "selling," or use of personal information for "targeted advertising" under applicable State Privacy Laws, the categories of personal information involved would be limited to identifiers (such as cookie IDs, phone numbers, or a hashed version of your email address) and internet or electronic network activity (such as pages viewed and links clicked), disclosed only to advertising and marketing networks we engage, if any.
Other Details About Our Information Practices
We do not knowingly collect, sell, or share personal information about consumers under the age of 16. We do not use or disclose information considered "sensitive" under applicable law for the purpose of inferring characteristics about you, except as described in Section 10 below with respect to health-related information Providers may collect in the course of providing beauty and wellness services.
Your Privacy Rights
Opt Out of Sales, Sharing, and Targeted Advertising. Some of the activities described in the Targeted Advertising and Analytics section above may be considered "sales" or "sharing" of your information, or use of your information for "targeted advertising," under the State Privacy Law that applies to you. You can opt out, or ask questions about our current practices, by emailing privacy@booka.com. You can also opt out by visiting our website with a legally recognized opt-out preference signal enabled, such as the Global Privacy Control.
Access, Deletion, Correction. Depending on your state of residence, you may have the right to request access to, deletion of, or correction of your personal information. To make such a request, email privacy@booka.com. You can also access, correct, or delete certain information stored within your account by logging in.
Appeals. If we deny your request, you may have the right to appeal our decision. Email privacy@booka.com to submit an appeal. If you have concerns about the result of an appeal, you may contact the attorney general in the state where you reside.
Authorized Agents. If you are submitting a rights request as an authorized agent, you must submit proof of your authorization, such as a valid power of attorney or signed permission from the individual who is the subject of the request.
Nondiscrimination. We will not discriminate against you for exercising your privacy rights.
10. HEALTH-RELATED INFORMATION
Because Providers on the Booka Services offer beauty, health, and wellness services, Providers may collect information from Clients that relates to physical characteristics or health, such as allergies, skin or scalp conditions, or topical medications used. This information is collected and maintained by the Provider as part of that Provider's business records; the Provider, not Booka, is responsible for determining whether such information constitutes "consumer health data," "sensitive personal information," or similar categories under applicable state law, and for obtaining any consents or providing any disclosures required before collecting it. Booka processes such information on the Provider's behalf, consistent with our Terms of Service and Data Processing Addendum, and does not sell or use Provider-collected health-related information for targeted advertising.
11. NON-U.S. USERS
The Booka Services are currently only available for use within the United States. By using the Booka Services, you acknowledge and agree that you are located in the United States and are otherwise eligible to use the Booka Services. Creating a Booka account outside the United States is a violation of our Terms of Service, and we reserve the right to terminate such accounts immediately.
12. CHANGES TO THIS PRIVACY POLICY
We may update this Privacy Policy to reflect changes in the law, our information practices, or the features of the Booka Services. We will indicate the date of the most recent update at the top of this Policy. If we make a material change to how we treat personal information, we will provide appropriate notice in accordance with legal requirements, such as through the Booka Services or by email. By continuing to use the Booka Services, you confirm that you have read and understood the latest version of this Privacy Policy.
13. CONTACT US
If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or Booka's privacy practices, contact us at privacy@booka.com, or by mail at:
Booka, Inc. 8605 Santa Monica Blvd. PMB 382566 West Hollywood, CA 90069-4109