Privacy Policy

Sparqlist operates a local-discovery marketplace that connects three kinds of users: Consumers (people discovering local deals, happy hours, and events), Creators (micro-influencers who collaborate with venues and earn from attributed referrals), and Vendors (businesses that list offers). This Privacy Policy explains what personal information we collect, how and why we use it, who we share it with, how long we keep it, how we protect it, and the rights and choices you have. It applies to our mobile app, our website at www.sparqlist.com, and all related services (together, the "Services"), and to all three user roles.

You must be at least 18 years old to use Sparqlist.

1Notice at Collection (summary)

At or before the point we collect your information, this is what you should know:

• Categories we collect: identifiers; account/customer records; commercial (transaction) information; internet/network activity; precise geolocation (sensitive); photos, video, and other content you create; professional/creator information; age; and inferences.
• Why: to provide, secure, and improve the Services, process payments and payouts, personalize discovery, moderate content, and meet legal obligations.
• Do we sell or "share" your data for advertising? No.
• Sensitive personal information (precise location; login credentials): used only to provide the Services and for security — never to infer characteristics about you and never for advertising.
• Retention: for as long as your account is active and as described in Section 12.
• Your rights: access, correct, delete, export, and (where applicable) limit or object — see Section 10.

2The information we collect

2.1 Information you provide

Account & identity (all roles)

• Email address; password (stored only as a salted hash by our authentication provider — we never see your plaintext password)
• Mobile phone number and phone-verification status (we verify numbers using one-time SMS codes)
• Date of birth (to confirm you are 18+; we store your date of birth and eligibility, not a government ID)

Profile information (varies by role)

• Consumers: display name; avatar/profile photo (optional); neighborhood; short bio; interest tags (optional)
• Creators: name; profile and lifestyle photos; bio; social handles (e.g., Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, RedNote) and any follower figures you provide; content niches; dietary preferences; availability
• Vendors: business name; category; description; hours; cover/logo photos; business address and contact details; the individuals authorized to manage the business account

Content you create ("UGC")

• Photos and videos you upload; captions, posts/"memories," and reviews; creator collaboration content and proof-of-post submissions; report/flag submissions and the messages you send our support team

Transactions & payments

• Vendors: credit top-ups, per-redemption fees, booking fees, event-ticket sales, gift-card activity, and payout status. Bank/payout details for payouts are collected and held by our payment processor, not by us.
• We do not collect or store full payment-card numbers; card data is entered into and processed directly by our payment processor.

Referral & program data

• Invite/referral codes you create or redeem, and the account that referred you.

2.2 Information we collect automatically

• Precise geolocation — with your permission, we use your device's precise location only while the app is in use to show nearby venues, deals, happy hours, and events, sort results by distance, center the map, and verify attendance at check-ins. We do not use background location or geofencing, and we do not sell location data.
• Device & connection data — device type/model, operating-system version, app version, language, and IP address.
• Usage & diagnostics — screens viewed, session start/end times and duration, feature interactions, and crash/error reports.
• Activity data — deals/happy hours/events you redeem, loyalty progress, tier, referral attributions, rewards earned, and notifications you interact with.
• Push tokens — a device notification token so we can deliver notifications you've enabled.

We do not use advertising SDKs, IDFA, or cross-app/website tracking.

2.3 Information from third parties

• Payment/verification signals from our payment processor (e.g., whether a payout account is enabled) — not full financial-account details.
• Referral relationships created when you or someone else redeems an invite/referral code.

2.4 Sources of the information

We collect information (a) directly from you, (b) automatically from your device and use of the Services, and (c) from our service providers (e.g., our payment processor's verification signals).

3Sensitive personal information

We collect two categories of information that California and certain other laws treat as sensitive: your precise geolocation and your account log-in credentials. We use these solely to deliver the Services (nearby discovery, distance sorting, and check-in verification; authenticating you) and to secure your account. We do not use them to infer characteristics about you, and we do not use or disclose them for advertising. Under applicable law you may limit the use of your sensitive personal information; because we already limit it to these permitted purposes, no further action is required, but you can revoke location access at any time in your device settings.

We do not perform facial recognition or extract biometric identifiers from your photos.

4How we use your information

We use personal information to:

• Create and operate your account and role(s), and verify your age and phone number;
• Provide core features — discovery, redemptions, creator collaborations, loyalty and tiers, referrals, rewards, gift cards, and event ticketing;
• Attribute referrals and calculate creator/consumer earnings and vendor billing;
• Process payments, credits, payouts, and refunds through our payment processor;
• Send transactional messages and notifications you've opted into (e.g., a reward earned, a booking confirmed, a nearby deal);
• Keep the Services safe — fraud and abuse prevention, self-referral and duplicate-account controls, content moderation, and rate limiting;
• Provide support and diagnose and fix crashes and bugs;
• Comply with legal, tax, and accounting obligations (including issuing required earnings/1099 records);
• Analyze usage in aggregate and de-identified form to improve the Services.

4.1 Text messages (SMS)

We send one-time passcodes for phone verification via our SMS provider (Twilio). These are transactional messages required to secure your account; we do not send marketing texts. Message and data rates may apply. Reply HELP for help or STOP to opt out of non-essential messages.

4.2 App Tracking Transparency

Because we do not track you across other companies' apps or websites, we do not use Apple's App Tracking Transparency (ATT) framework to request tracking permission, and we do not use the advertising identifier (IDFA).

5Legal bases for processing (EEA/UK)

Where the GDPR or UK GDPR applies, we rely on:

6Categories of information and how they're handled (CCPA/CPRA)

In the preceding 12 months we have collected the following categories, from the sources in Section 2.4, for the purposes in Section 4, and disclosed them to the recipients in Section 7. We have not sold, and have not "shared" (for cross-context behavioral advertising), any personal information.

7How and with whom we share information

We share personal information only as described here. We do not sell your personal information, and we do not share it for cross-context behavioral advertising.

7.1 With other users, by design

Sparqlist is a marketplace. Your public profile (e.g., display name, photo, bio, neighborhood; for Creators, social handles and stats; for Vendors, the business listing) is visible to other users. When you redeem, collaborate, or refer, the details a feature requires are shared with the counterparty (e.g., a Vendor sees a customer checked in; a referred consumer's redemption is attributed to the referrer). Reviews, posts, and other UGC you publish are visible to other users. You can control much of what's public in your settings, and you can block users so their content is hidden from you.

7.2 With service providers (processors)

We share data with vendors that process it on our behalf, under contract, only to run the Services:

Each provider processes only the data needed for its function and is contractually required to protect your information to the same or comparable standard of protection described in this Policy, and to use it only for the functions above.

7.3 Automated moderation & third-party AI

To keep the community safe, content you submit for posting (photos, videos, captions, reviews, and minimal surrounding context) is processed by a third-party AI provider (Anthropic) to detect material that may violate our guidelines. This content is used only for moderation, is not used to train third-party AI models, and is not used for advertising. By submitting content to Sparqlist, you consent to this automated processing. You can contest an automated moderation outcome as described in Section 8.

7.4 For legal, safety, and business reasons

We may disclose information to comply with law or valid legal process, to enforce our Terms, to protect the rights, safety, or property of Sparqlist, our users, or the public, or in connection with a merger, acquisition, financing, or asset sale (with notice where required).

8Automated decision-making

Some features operate automatically: content moderation may automatically block content detected as clearly violating our guidelines; fraud controls may block self-referrals or duplicate accounts; and tiers, earnings, and rewards are calculated automatically. These processes do not produce legal or similarly significant effects on you without the availability of human review. You may contest a moderation outcome or account action by contacting support@sparqlist.com, and a person will review it.

9Cookies and tracking technologies

Our mobile app does not use advertising cookies, IDFA, or cross-app tracking. Our website uses strictly necessary cookies to function and a limited set of first-party analytics; we do not use third-party advertising cookies. Where required, we provide controls for non-essential cookies. We honor Global Privacy Control (GPC) signals as an opt-out of "sale/share" where applicable — noting that we do not sell or share personal information in any event.

10Your rights and choices

10.1 In-app controls (available to all users)

• Download your data. Use "Download My Data" in the app to export a copy of your information in a portable format.
• Delete your account. Use Delete Account in Settings. On deletion we irreversibly anonymize your personal information in place — we scrub identifying profile fields, disable your login, and purge your uploaded files and notifications. We retain a de-identified record of transactions only where legally required (e.g., tax/accounting); it can no longer be associated with you.
• Permissions. Control Location, Camera, Photos, and Notifications in your device settings. The app functions with these disabled, with reduced features.
• Communications. Manage notification preferences in-app and disable push in device settings. Transactional messages necessary to the Services may still be sent.
• Blocking & reporting. Block users and report content or accounts directly in the app.

10.2 California residents (CCPA/CPRA)

You have the right to (a) know and access the personal information we collect, use, and disclose; (b) correct inaccurate information; (c) delete your information; (d) obtain a portable copy; and (e) limit the use of sensitive personal information (already limited as described in Section 3). We do not sell or share personal information, so no "Do Not Sell/Share" opt-out is required. We will not discriminate against you for exercising your rights. You may use an authorized agent to submit a request (we may require proof of authorization and verification of your identity).

10.3 EEA/UK residents (GDPR)

You have rights to access, rectification, erasure, restriction, data portability, and to object to processing, and to withdraw consent at any time. You may lodge a complaint with your local supervisory authority.

10.4 Other U.S. state residents

Where applicable (e.g., Virginia, Colorado, Connecticut, and similar laws), you have rights to access, correct, delete, and obtain a portable copy of your personal data, and to appeal a decision on your request.

10.5 How to exercise rights and our response times

Use the in-app tools above, or email support@sparqlist.com. We will acknowledge and respond within the timeframe required by applicable law (generally 45 days, extendable where permitted). We may need to verify your identity before acting on a request. If we decline a request, we will explain why, and — where the law provides an appeal — we will tell you how to appeal.

11Data security

We protect your information with technical and organizational safeguards, including encryption in transit (HTTPS/TLS), database row-level access controls so users can access only their own data, hashed passwords, scoped file storage, and rate-limiting and fraud controls. No method of transmission or storage is perfectly secure, but we work continuously to protect your data and will notify affected users and regulators of a data breach where required by law.

12Data retention

We keep personal information for as long as your account is active and as needed to provide the Services, then delete or de-identify it. Specifically:

• Account & profile data: kept while your account is active; anonymized upon deletion (Section 10.1).
• Crash/diagnostic logs: 90 days, then deleted or aggregated.
• Session/usage analytics: 24 months, then aggregated.
• De-identified financial/transaction records: retained as required by tax and accounting law (currently 7 years).
• Support communications: 24 months.

13Children's privacy

Sparqlist is not intended for anyone under 18. We collect date of birth at signup and do not knowingly collect information from anyone under 18. If we learn we have collected such information, we will delete it. If you believe a minor has provided us information, contact support@sparqlist.com.

14International data transfers

We operate from the United States and currently serve the New York City area. If you access the Services from outside the U.S., your information will be processed in the U.S., which may have data-protection laws different from your own. Where required, we use appropriate safeguards (such as Standard Contractual Clauses) for international transfers.

15Third-party links and services

The Services may link to third-party websites or services (for example, a venue's website, third-party ticketing, or app-store subscription management). Their privacy practices are governed by their own policies, not this one. We encourage you to review them.

16Accessibility

We are committed to making this Policy accessible. If you need it in an alternative format, contact support@sparqlist.com.

17Changes to this Policy

We may update this Policy from time to time. If we make material changes, we will provide advance notice in the app or by email and update the "Last updated" date above. Your continued use of the Services after changes take effect indicates your acknowledgment of the updated Policy.

18How to contact us

Email (all privacy requests and questions): support@sparqlist.com
General: hello@sparqlist.com
Mail: SPARQLIST INC, 12 E 49th Street, Suite 1904, New York, NY 10017.