Toshak

Privacy Policy

This is the same text shown in the Toshak app. It is in English; translations into Dari and Pashto will be added.

1. About this policy

This Privacy Policy explains how [COMPANY LEGAL NAME] ("Toshak", "we", "us") collects, uses, shares and protects personal information when you use the Toshak apps and website (the "Service"), and the choices and rights you have.

Short version: we collect what we need to run a community app, we never sell your information, we do not use it for targeted advertising, and you can delete your account at any time.

2. Information you give us

  • Account: your name, email address, phone number, and password (stored only in hashed form). If you use Sign in with Apple or Sign in with Google, we receive your name, your email address (or an Apple private relay address if you choose to hide it) and an account ID from them. We never receive your Apple or Google password.
  • Profile: photo, bio, languages you speak, and the location you choose to show (city and state, state only, or hidden).
  • Communities: the countries, states and cities you join, and any new city you request.
  • Content: messages in group chats and private messages, photos, reactions, listings, events, reviews and saved items.
  • Reports and appeals: what you report, your reason and any note, and appeals you send us.
  • Verification: documents you send to get a Verified badge, such as a business license or certificate.
  • Support: messages you send to our support team.

3. Information we collect automatically

  • Device and log data: device type, operating system, app version, language setting, IP address, crash reports and diagnostic data, and the dates and times you use the Service.
  • Approximate location: we may estimate your country or region from your IP address to suggest communities. If you allow location access, we use your device's location to sort nearby services by distance. We do not store a history of your precise location.
  • Notifications: a push-notification token, if you allow notifications.
  • Usage: features you use and settings you choose, so we can keep the Service working and improve it.

We do not use third-party advertising trackers, and we do not track you across other companies' apps or websites.

4. Sensitive information

Because Toshak is a community for Afghans abroad, the fact that you use it may suggest your national or ethnic origin, and your posts may reveal things like your religion or political views. We treat this as sensitive. We use it only to provide the Service, never sell or share it for advertising, and never use it to infer things about you. Where the law requires it, we ask for your explicit consent when you sign up, and you can withdraw consent by deleting your account.

Private messages are stored on our servers and are protected in transit and at rest, but they are not end-to-end encrypted. Our team may review a private message only when it is reported, when we need to investigate a safety or legal issue, or when the law requires it.

5. How we use information

  • To create and secure your account, including sending verification codes.
  • To run communities, chats, private messages, services, events and reviews.
  • To translate messages when you turn on automatic translation.
  • To keep Toshak safe: review reports, approve events and new cities, verify providers, detect spam, scams, fake accounts and ban evasion, and enforce our Terms and Community Guidelines.
  • To send notifications you have chosen in Settings, and important messages about your account or changes to our policies.
  • To provide support and respond to requests.
  • To understand how the Service is used, fix bugs and improve it.
  • To comply with the law and protect the rights and safety of our members, the public and Toshak.

6. Legal bases (EU, UK and similar laws)

We rely on: (a) contract, to provide the Service you signed up for; (b) legitimate interests, to keep the Service safe, prevent fraud and improve it, balanced against your rights; (c) consent, for optional features like notifications and device location, and for sensitive information where required; and (d) legal obligation, where the law requires us to process or keep information.

7. Who can see your information

  • Other members: your name, photo, bio, languages, the location you chose to show, and your listings, events and reviews. Anything you post in a group chat is visible to anyone who joins that community, so treat it as public. Private messages are visible to the people in the conversation.
  • Moderators: volunteer and staff moderators can see reported content, the report, and basic account information needed to review it.
  • Service providers: companies that host our servers and store data, send emails and text messages, provide automatic translation, process crash reports, and deliver push notifications. They may use your information only to provide services to us, under contracts that require them to protect it.
  • Legal and safety: we may share information if we believe in good faith it is required by law, legal process or a government request; or needed to prevent fraud, protect someone's safety, or protect our rights. We report apparent child sexual exploitation to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) and to the appropriate authorities.
  • Business changes: if Toshak is involved in a merger, acquisition or sale of assets, information may be transferred as part of that deal, and this policy will continue to protect it.

We do not sell personal information, and we do not share it for cross-context behavioral advertising.

8. How long we keep information

  • Account and profile: while your account is open.
  • When you delete your account: we delete your profile, messages, photos, listings, events and reviews within 30 days. Copies in backups are deleted within 90 days.
  • Verification documents: deleted within 30 days after we make a decision.
  • Logs and diagnostics: up to 12 months.
  • Reports, moderation and ban records: up to 2 years after the action, so we can prevent abuse and ban evasion.
  • We keep information longer only when the law requires it or to resolve a dispute or legal claim.

9. Your choices and rights

  • In the app you can edit your profile, choose how your location is shown, control who can message you, hide yourself from member search, choose notifications, block people, and delete your account.
  • Depending on where you live, you may have the right to: know and access the personal information we hold about you; correct it; delete it; receive a copy in a portable format; object to or restrict certain processing; withdraw consent; and not be discriminated against for using these rights.
  • To make a request, email privacy@toshakapp.com from the email linked to your account, or use Settings. We will verify your identity before acting and respond within the time the law requires (usually 30 to 45 days). You may use an authorized agent where the law allows.
  • If you live in the EU, the UK or Switzerland, you can also complain to your local data protection authority.

10. California residents

In the last 12 months we have collected these categories of personal information: identifiers (name, email, phone, account IDs, IP address); customer records (contact details); characteristics that may be protected by law (national or ethnic origin, as suggested by membership); internet and app activity; approximate geolocation; audio-visual information (photos); professional information (for verified providers); and inferences limited to what is needed to run the Service. We collect them for the purposes described in Section 5 and disclose them only as described in Section 7.

We do not sell or share personal information as those terms are defined under California law, and we have no actual knowledge of selling or sharing information of anyone under 16. We use sensitive personal information only for purposes allowed under California law, so we do not offer a "limit the use" option. We honor Global Privacy Control signals.

You have the rights described in Section 9. We will not discriminate against you for using them.

11. Children

Toshak is only for people 18 and older. We do not knowingly collect information from anyone under 18. If we learn that someone under 18 has an account, we will delete it. If you believe a minor is using Toshak, please tell us at privacy@toshakapp.com.

12. Security

We use administrative, technical and physical safeguards, including encryption in transit and at rest, access controls and hashed passwords. No system is completely secure, so we cannot guarantee security. Keep your sign-in details private and tell us right away if you think your account was accessed without permission.

13. International transfers

Toshak is based in the United States and our service providers may process information in the U.S. and other countries. When we transfer personal information from the EU, the UK or Switzerland, we use safeguards approved under those laws, such as the European Commission's Standard Contractual Clauses.

14. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy. If a change is material, we will tell you in the app or by email before it takes effect. The "Last updated" date shows when it last changed.

15. Contact

[COMPANY LEGAL NAME], [MAILING ADDRESS]

Privacy questions and requests: privacy@toshakapp.com