Privacy Policy

1. Introduction

Welcome to Nyata AI ("we," "our," or "us"), operated by Nyata Ltd (Company No. 16286344), registered in England and Wales. We are committed to protecting your privacy and providing a safe, secure experience for all users of our community companion platform.

Nyata AI is a community companion app available on iOS and Android that combines local service bookings (barbers, beauty, taxi, cleaning), AI-powered community features, real-time chat, and gaming. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you use our mobile applications, website, and related services (collectively, the "Service").

Please read this Privacy Policy carefully. By accessing or using our Service, you acknowledge that you have read, understood, and agree to be bound by the terms of this Privacy Policy. This policy applies to all users of our platforms, including visitors, registered users, service providers (barbers, beauty professionals, taxi drivers, cleaners), and paying customers.

2. Information We Collect

We collect the following categories of data, all of which are linked to your identity and used for App Functionality and Analytics purposes:

2.1 Contact Information

• Name: Your full name, collected during account registration and used to identify you across the platform, personalise your experience, and facilitate bookings.
• Email Address: Used for account verification, login, transactional notifications (booking confirmations, payment receipts), and customer support communications.
• Phone Number: Used for account verification, booking notifications, taxi ride coordination, and two-factor authentication where applicable.
• Physical Address: Used for taxi bookings (pickup and drop-off locations), cleaning service bookings (service address), home visit barber and beauty services, and delivery of location-relevant community services.

2.2 Location Data

• Coarse Location: We collect approximate (coarse) location data to show you nearby service providers, local community services (such as free meal services and support organisations), and relevant local content. For taxi services, location data is used to calculate routes and fares. Location data is collected only while you are actively using the app's location-dependent features.

2.3 User Content

• Photos or Videos: Profile pictures you upload, images shared in community chat, and photos submitted as part of service provider applications (e.g. barber portfolio images).
• Customer Support Content: Messages, attachments, and information you provide when contacting our support team or using the in-app human support chat feature.
• Other User Content: Messages sent through community chat, AI chat interactions, game data and scores, service reviews and ratings, and any other content you create or submit through the Service.

2.4 Identifiers

• User ID: A unique identifier assigned to your account, used to associate your activity, bookings, payments, chat messages, and preferences with your account across the platform.

2.5 Purchase Data

• Purchase History: Records of transactions made through the platform, including service bookings (barber, beauty, taxi, cleaning), payment amounts, dates, and associated service provider details. Payment card details are processed securely by our payment processor (Stripe) and are not stored on our servers.

2.6 Usage Data

• Product Interaction: Information about how you interact with the Service, including features used, pages viewed, buttons tapped, search queries, booking flow interactions, chat engagement, games played, and time spent on the platform. This data helps us understand how users engage with Nyata AI so we can improve the experience.

2.7 Summary of Data Collection

3. How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect for the following purposes:

3.1 App Functionality

• Creating and managing your Nyata AI account
• Facilitating service bookings between you and service providers (barbers, beauty professionals, taxi drivers, cleaners)
• Processing payments through Stripe (including Apple Pay and Google Pay)
• Providing real-time taxi tracking and ride verification
• Delivering AI-powered chat assistance and community features
• Enabling community chat messaging, reactions, mentions, and media sharing
• Operating in-app games and tournament systems
• Showing local community services, including free meal services and support organisations for people in need
• Sending push notifications for bookings, messages, and important updates
• Providing customer support through in-app chat and email

3.2 Analytics

• Understanding how users interact with the platform to improve features and usability
• Monitoring platform performance and diagnosing technical issues
• Analysing booking patterns and service usage to enhance the marketplace
• Measuring the effectiveness of community services and features
• Generating aggregated, anonymised insights about platform usage

3.3 Safety and Security

• Detecting, investigating, and preventing fraudulent transactions and abuse
• Moderating community chat to ensure a safe environment
• Verifying service provider identities and applications
• Complying with legal obligations

4. Legal Basis for Processing (for EEA, UK, and Swiss Users)

If you are located in the European Economic Area (EEA), United Kingdom, or Switzerland, we collect and process your personal information based on the following legal grounds:

• Performance of a Contract: Processing is necessary to provide the Service to you, including managing your account, processing bookings, handling payments, and enabling platform features you use.
• Legitimate Interests: Processing is necessary for our legitimate interests, such as improving the Service, ensuring platform safety, preventing fraud, and understanding usage patterns — provided your interests and fundamental rights do not override those interests.
• Consent: Where required, you have given your consent for specific processing purposes, such as receiving marketing communications or enabling location-based features. You may withdraw consent at any time.
• Legal Obligation: Processing is necessary to comply with applicable laws and regulations.

5. How We Share Your Information

We may share your information in the following circumstances:

• Service Providers on the Platform: When you book a service (barber, beauty, taxi, cleaning), relevant booking details (such as your name, contact information, and service address where applicable) are shared with the assigned service provider to fulfil your booking.
• Third-Party Service Providers: With trusted vendors who help us operate the platform, including payment processing (Stripe), analytics (Google Analytics), real-time communications (Pusher), push notifications, and hosting infrastructure. These providers only access data necessary to perform their services and are bound by contractual obligations to protect your information.
• Business Transfers: In connection with a merger, acquisition, reorganisation, or sale of all or substantially all of our assets, your information may be transferred as part of that transaction.
• Legal Requirements: When required by law, regulation, or legal process, or to protect the rights, property, or safety of Nyata Ltd, our users, or others.
• With Your Consent: When you have given us explicit permission to share your information for a specific purpose.

We do not sell your personal information to third parties.

6. Third-Party Services

Nyata AI integrates with the following third-party services to deliver the platform's functionality:

• Stripe: Processes all payments securely, including credit/debit cards, Apple Pay, and Google Pay. Stripe's privacy policy governs the handling of your payment data. Visit stripe.com/privacy for details.
• Google Analytics: Collects anonymised usage data to help us understand how users interact with the platform. Visit Google's Privacy Policy for details.
• Real-Time Communication Providers: We use third-party services to deliver real-time features such as live chat messaging, GPS tracking updates, and push notifications.
• AI Processing Providers: Our AI chat assistant is powered by third-party AI services. Messages you send to the AI assistant are processed by these services to generate responses. Conversations may be used in anonymised form to improve the AI experience.
• Messaging Providers: We use third-party messaging services to deliver notifications via channels such as WhatsApp and SMS.

We encourage you to review the privacy policies of these third-party services. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of third-party services.

7. Your Rights and Choices

Under the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018, you have the following rights regarding your personal information:

• Right of Access: You can request a copy of the personal information we hold about you.
• Right to Rectification: You can request that we correct inaccurate or incomplete personal information.
• Right to Erasure: You can request the deletion of your personal information, subject to certain legal exceptions.
• Right to Restrict Processing: You can request that we limit how we use your data in certain circumstances.
• Right to Data Portability: You can request a copy of your data in a structured, commonly used, machine-readable format.
• Right to Object: You can object to processing based on legitimate interests or for direct marketing purposes.
• Right to Withdraw Consent: Where processing is based on consent, you may withdraw that consent at any time without affecting the lawfulness of processing carried out before withdrawal.

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at support@nyataai.co.uk. We will respond to your request within one month. If you are not satisfied with our response, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) at ico.org.uk.

8. Data Retention

We retain your personal information for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes outlined in this Privacy Policy, including:

• Account data: Retained for as long as your account is active. If you request account deletion, we will delete or anonymise your data within 30 days, except where we are required to retain it by law.
• Booking and transaction records: Retained for up to 6 years after the transaction to comply with UK tax and accounting obligations.
• Chat messages: Community chat messages are retained for the duration of your account. AI chat interactions may be retained in anonymised form to improve our services.
• Analytics data: Aggregated and anonymised analytics data may be retained indefinitely as it cannot be linked back to individual users.

When we no longer need your information, we take steps to securely delete or anonymise it.

9. Data Security

We implement appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect the security of your personal information, including:

• Encryption of data in transit using HTTPS/TLS
• Secure password hashing and session management
• Payment data handled exclusively by PCI DSS-compliant processors (Stripe)
• Regular review of data access controls
• Secure hosting infrastructure

However, please note that no method of transmission over the Internet or electronic storage is 100% secure. While we strive to protect your personal information, we cannot guarantee its absolute security.

10. International Data Transfers

Your information may be transferred to and processed in countries outside the United Kingdom, including the United States, where some of our third-party service providers (such as Stripe and Google) are based. These countries may have data protection laws that differ from those in the UK.

Where we transfer personal data outside the UK, we ensure appropriate safeguards are in place, such as Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs) approved by the UK Information Commissioner's Office, or transfers to countries that have been deemed to provide an adequate level of data protection.

11. Children's Privacy

Our Service is not directed to children under the age of 13 (or 16 in the UK under the Age Appropriate Design Code). We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under these ages. If you are a parent or guardian and believe that your child has provided us with personal information, please contact us at support@nyataai.co.uk and we will take steps to delete such information promptly.

12. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes to our practices, the Service, or legal requirements. We will notify you of material changes by posting the updated Privacy Policy on this page and updating the "Last Updated" date. For significant changes, we may also notify you via email or in-app notification. You are advised to review this Privacy Policy periodically.

13. Contact Us

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, our data practices, or wish to exercise your data protection rights, please contact us at:

Nyata Ltd
Company Number: 16286344
Registered in England and Wales with Companies House (gov.uk/companieshouse)
1F23 Student Venture
University of the West of England
Bristol, United Kingdom

Email: support@nyataai.co.uk

If you are not satisfied with our response to a privacy concern, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO):

Information Commissioner's Office
Wycliffe House, Water Lane
Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF
ico.org.uk