Effective Date: [•] July 2023

Version: 3

BNET-TECH COMPANY LIMITED 必靈科技有限公司 (“BNET”, “our”, “we” or “us”) (CR No. 2355254) is committed to protecting your privacy and ensuring that all personal data provided to us is handled in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance (Cap. 486) (“PDPO”), the Data Protection Principles and this privacy policy (“Policy”). We are equally committed to ensuring that all our employees and service providers who process personal data on behalf of BNET uphold these obligations.

***Please read this Policy carefully before furnishing us any information about you or any other person***

This Policy describes the personal data which will be collected or processed when you use our mobile applications, including the STICKu App and the ElderlyGo App (collectively referred to as the “Apps”). It explains how your personal data is collected, used, processed, stored, shared and protected, what choices you have relating to your personal data, and how you can reach us. In this Policy, as the context may be, “you” and “your” may refer to the individual users of the Apps, or the nominated caretakers, or both.

The Apps may include links to third-party websites, plug-ins, services, social networks or applications. Clicking on those links or enabling those connections may allow the third party to collect or share data about you. This Policy does not address, and we are not responsible for, the privacy, information or other practices of any third parties.   We encourage you to read the privacy notice of every website you visit.

In this Policy:

“personal data” means any information relating to you directly or indirectly, from which it is practicable for your identity to be directly or indirectly ascertained;

“process” or “processing” means any operation performed on personal data, whether by automated means or not, including without limitation collecting, recording, structuring, amending, augmenting, deleting, rearranging, retrieving, using, disclosing or disseminating such personal data;

“services” means the functions provided in and through the Apps, including without limitation the “emergency alert”, “find missing elderly”, “fall down alert” and “anti-loss alert” features in the STICKu App (inclusive of functions provided by our partners through the STICKu App) and the “contact tracing” feature in the ElderlyGo App; and

“STICKu” means the multi-functional walking stick developed by BNET.

Navigating this Policy

You can click on the links below to jump to the relevant section:

1. WHO is responsible for processing your personal data?
2. WHY and HOW do we use your personal data?
3. WHAT personal data do we collect and WHEN?
4. TOOLS to manage what personal data we collect
5. SHARING your personal data
6. PROTECTION and MANAGEMENT of your personal data
7. DIRECT MARKETING
8. CHANGES to our Policy
9. QUESTIONS, complaints and feedback

WHO is responsible for processing your personal data?

BNET is responsible for processing your personal data.

WHY and HOW do we use your personal data?

We use your personal data in the following ways:

To create your user account

We require your personal data, such as your identity and contact information, to admit you as a new registered user of the Apps or to otherwise facilitate our provision of the services and functionalities of the Apps to you. You will only be able to enjoy the services after we receive the necessary information and, if relevant, all verification processes are successfully completed. If you are unable or unwilling to provide such information to us, you may still be able to use the STICKu (subject to the Terms of Use) but you may not be able to receive all or part of the services which can only be rendered with the use of the STICKu App.

To provide the features of the Apps

When you use the Apps, we will use your personal data for rendering the services. For example, if your STICKu drops and is not picked up over a certain period of time, the STICKu App will automatically give a “fall down alert” to your nominated caretakers.

Some features and functionality in the Apps also record your location and movement. We will collect such data and store it so that you can review it in the Apps. If you have location services turned on, we may collect and use your mobile location for the purposes of certain services, features and functionalities in the Apps. For instance, if emergency situation arises, the STICKu App will send notifications to your nominated emergency contacts containing your name and location.

If you have persistent background location services turned on for our Apps (which you can do by going into your operating device settings and toggling on background sharing), we will obtain your device’s location in the following circumstances, even if you are not actively using the Apps:

1. The ElderlyGo App will detect nearby STICKu, and information about your mobile location will be collected if it is near such nearby devices for contact-tracing purposes; and
2. When we receive a missing elderly report from any verified emergency contact of a STICKu user, information about your mobile location will be collected through the STICKu App if you are near to that missing STICKu user.

We use various technologies to determine your mobile location, including but not limited to Bluetooth scanning. If you are sharing your background location with us (by turning on persistent background location services for our Apps), you may opt-out at any time by going into your operating device settings and toggling off background sharing.

In some cases, to use certain features in the Apps, you may need to provide us with additional data or additional consent. For example, to activate the “emergency alert” and “fall down alert” features on the STICKu App, you will need to provide us with the contact details of your caretakers and emergency contacts respectively.

We may also use data about you to respond to your inquiries and fulfill your requests.

To communicate information about us and our services

We plan to enhance our services from time to time by adding innovative features and strengthening existing functions. We will share with you any updates through the Apps.

To operate, improve and maintain our services

We process the personal data you provide to us to improve our services, enhance the functionality of STICKu (if applicable) and our Apps, and perform various internal functions. For example, we may publish in our marketing materials the number of users of the Apps and their demographics in an anonymised or aggregated way. These marketing materials may be furnished to sponsors or funders to allow them to understand our model and consider whether to financially support us.

We may collect and use information about how you use our services to enhance the user experience of the Apps, help us diagnose technical and service problems and administer the Apps.

To protect our or others’ rights, property or safety

We may also collect and use information about how you use the Apps to prevent, detect, or investigate fraud, abuse, illegal use, violations of our Terms of Use, and to comply with court orders, governmental requests or applicable laws, regulations and guidelines.

For general research and analysis purposes

As a social enterprise with the social objectives such as enhancing the safety and mobility of the elderly, we may use your personal data to understand the elderly population in Hong Kong, including without limitation their activities, habits, preferences and behaviours, so that we can conduct further research, publish reports, innovate new products and services and work with other stakeholders (e.g. government, non-governmental organisations, charitable organisations, hospitals, clinics and elderly homes) to better the lives of elderly people.

WHAT personal data do we collect and WHEN?

When using the Apps, the personal data we may collect includes without limitation:

1. your contact details including name, email, telephone number and address;
2. sensor data;
3. location data;
4. login and account information, including screen name, password and unique user ID;
5. personal details including gender and date of birth;
6. fitness activity data provided by you or generated through the STICKu App, if applicable (e.g. time, duration, distance, location, walking steps);
7. contact details of your nominated emergency contacts;
8. movement data from your device’s accelerometer;
9. personal preferences; and
10. physiologic data measured by vital-sign instruments (e.g. blood pressure, blood oxygen).

We may collect additional personal data from you to enable particular features within the Apps.  For example, if you are using the STICKu app, we may access your mobile’s location data to keep track of your whereabouts and we may access your nominated contacts to enable your mobile device to automatically send notifications when there is an emergency situation; we may also access to your mobile’s location data and use that information to help locate missing elderly.

When interacting with the Apps, certain data is automatically collected from your device.  Such data includes without limitation:

1. device IDs, network access, storage information and battery information; and
2. cookies and IP addresses.

TOOLS to manage what personal data we collect

When using the Apps, we may provide notice or obtain consent for certain scenarios. For example, we may send push notifications. Such consent may be obtained through the Apps or using the standard permissions available on your device.

In many cases, your mobile device platform will provide additional tools to allow you to control when your device collects or shares particular categories of personal data.  For example, your mobile device may offer tools to allow you to manage location sharing.  We encourage you to familiarise yourself with and use the tools available on your devices.

SHARING your personal data

We may disclose or transfer such personal data where such disclosure is necessary to satisfy the purposes for which the data is collected as set out above. We may share your personal data with:

1. your nominated emergency contacts in your emergency contact list (for users of the STICKu App only);
2. your caretakers (for users of the STICKu App only);
3. our employees and volunteers who need the information to discharge their duties;
4. our data storage provider(s), data analysis providers including but not limited to external medical teams who may be engaged to analyze your personal data to improve our services, and other third-party service providers for services ancillary to ours;
5. medical service providers and healthcare professionals including ambulance service providers, emergency medical technicians and paramedics;
6. any person or entity to whom BNET is under an obligation to make disclosure under applicable laws, regulations or guidelines issued by government, regulatory or other authorities; and
7. any person you have authorised to interact with us on your behalf.

Your personal data may be stored and processed in place outside of Hong Kong (including but not limited to Singapore), where we have affiliates, facilities, or in which we engage service providers.  By using the Apps, you understand that your information may be transferred to countries outside of your country of residence.

We will never sell your personal data to any third party.

PROTECTION and MANAGEMENT of your personal data

Retention of your personal data

Your personal data will only be kept as long as required or permitted for the purposes for which such personal data is collected, used and/or disclosed, or for any legal or business purposes. For the avoidance of doubt, we will retain your personal data during the period you use our services and for a reasonable period thereafter.

Storage and security of your personal data

The personal data that we collect will generally be held on our behalf by third party data storage provider(s). Sometimes we also keep hard copy records of personal data in physical storage facilities. We use a range of physical and technical processes and procedures to protect the confidentiality and security of the information that we hold, and we update these from time to time to address new and emerging security threats of which we become aware.

Access, correction and deletion personal data

You provide personal data to us on a voluntary basis, except where we specify that it is mandatory to access or activate certain of the services. In accordance with the PDPO, you may request access to your personal data held by us. A reasonable charge may be imposed to cover the administrative cost of preparing an electronic copy of your personal data. You are also entitled to correct some aspects of your personal data held by us, and request us to cease to use your personal data at any time without charge. You may submit a data access request, and/or subsequently a data correction request, by submitting the feedback form on our website with your full name and contact details. These requests will be handled by our representatives, who may be contacted by mail, e-mail or phone. You may visit our website for our contact details.

There may be instances where we are unable to provide the information you request, for example, where it would otherwise infringe any laws, interfere with the privacy of others, or result in a breach of confidentiality. In these cases we will let you know why we cannot comply with your requests.

Uninstalling the Apps will not automatically delete any information already uploaded to our central storage. If you wish any of your personal data uploaded to our central storage to be deleted, you can expressly ask us to delete your information using the feedback form on our website.

DIRECT MARKETING

We may from time to time use your contact details in order to send you marketing materials about, without limitation, our events, programmes, research, volunteer opportunities, news update, and impact reports relating to our products. We may not use your personal data in direct marketing unless we have received your consent.

You may opt out of receiving marketing communications at any time, with no charge, by submitting the feedback form on our website with your full name and contact details. We will then stop sending you any further marketing related emails. Please note that you may continue to receive communications for a short period after changing your preferences while we are updating our systems.

If we use your personal data in any direct marketing communications, you have the right to request that we provide you with the source of that personal data. There is no fee for requesting this information. We will provide you with the source of personal data unless it is impracticable or unreasonable to do so.

CHANGES to our Policy

We reserve the right to update, revise, modify or amend this Policy from time to time as we deem necessary. We therefore ask you to review this Policy frequently. Changes and clarifications will take effect immediately upon their posting on the Apps. If we make material changes to this Policy, we will notify you in the App(s) that it has been updated.

QUESTIONS, complaints and feedback

We aim to implement high standards in order to protect your privacy. However, if you are concerned about the way in which we are processing your personal data or think we may have violated any applicable privacy laws, or any other relevant obligation, please contact us using the feedback form on our website. We will make a record of your complaint and conduct further investigation if necessary. We will handle your complaints as soon as we can and keep you informed of the progress of our investigation.

Should you have any enquiries or feedback about this Policy, feel free contact us using the feedback form on our website.

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