Privacy Policy

Privacy Policy

Who we are

Quokka – Honest Talk With Strangers is operated by Spinny Technologies Inc., a company registered in the United States at 29 Little West 12th St, New York, NY 10014.

Quokka has designated a Data Protection Officer and they can be reached by emailing data@hiquokka.com or by post at the address above.

Who can use Quokka?

You must be aged 18 or over to use Quokka. When you sign up to use Quokka you will be asked to confirm your date of birth so that we can check that you are 18 or over. If you are not aged 18 or over you are not permitted to use Quokka.

How is my personal information used by Quokka to provide the Quokka services to me?

Quokka is an audio app that allows users to talk to other users of the app who have also downloaded the Quokka app.

When you sign up to Quokka, the app will access the contacts on your device so that you can see contacts who are also using Quokka, and get notified in the future when your contacts download the app.

Quokka users found in your contact list will show as recommended to follow in the app. They will also be able to see your name as it appears in their contact list, your Quokka username (which doesn’t need to be your real name), avatar and profile description.

Other Quokka users can send a request to follow you. If you accept a request, they will be able to see your profile information (username, avatar and profile description) and see what conversations you follow. No one will be able to see the contact number you registered with. They will only see the limited profile information as set out above.

You have the option to allow Quokka to show your location at city level in your profile (for example if you are within New York your location would be shown as “New York”). If you allow your location to be shown the Quokka app will collect information about your location from your phone (latitude and longitude). If you permit your location to be shown it will only be visible to other users who are sharing their location.

If you have enabled location services, but wish to turn it off, you can do so by the following methods:

1. iPhone app — settings, privacy, location services, Quokka

You control your user profile. These details are available to you at any time by accessing your profile in Quokka. You can correct and update the information in your profile at any time but you are only able to change your date of birth and your gender once within the profile. If you have any issues, you can contact Quokka’s Customer Support Team at support@hiquokka.com

Please be careful about posting private and sensitive details about yourself on your profile. Remember that this can be seen by other Quokka users. You can change your profile at any time to remove this information.

For safety and security and to ensure you have the best possible user experience, we require users to verify the mobile phone number that they use to register for a Quokka account. To do this we send a code to the mobile phone number that is provided and that code must be entered into Quokka to enable an account to be created. We want to make sure you are not a robot! And we also want to avoid fake Quokka accounts being created which can be used for malicious activities and cyber crime – they threaten the Quokka network and spoil things for everyone. We use a third party provider for account verification who will keep your phone number for up to 90 days for fraud identification purposes.

To prevent abuse of the app/site, Quokka uses automated decisions to block accounts as part of its anti-spam procedures. In order to do this, our systems check accounts for content that indicates breaches of our Terms of Service. If an account or message meets certain criteria that demonstrate that the Terms of Service are likely to have been breached, the relevant account will automatically be blocked. All users of accounts that have been blocked will be notified that their account has been blocked and affected users can contact Quokka to contest the decision.

Please note that if your account is blocked, any account(s) that you have on our other group platforms/applications may also be blocked as part of our anti-spam and anti-fraud procedures.

How else does Quokka use my data?

When you use Quokka we automatically collect certain information, including the unique device identifier assigned to your device (“Device ID”) and other information regarding your access to or use of Quokka. We collect information about your browser type, referring domain (this is information about a third party site that you were on before you clicked through to the Quokka site) and mobile carrier. We use this information to check that it is you using Quokka, to see how you are using the Quokka service so that we can improve our services, to keep track of your preferences and to create a more tailored user experience.

What is the legal basis that allows Quokka to use my data?

We are only permitted to use your data when we have a lawful basis to do so. The table below provides an overview of the legal bases that Quokka relies on to use your data. Where the legal basis is consent, you can withdraw consent at any time. Where the legal basis is legitimate interests, you have a right to object to our use of your data. We explain in the relevant sections in this privacy notice how you can withdraw consent or opt-out of certain data uses (where applicable).

Purpose for which data is used Data Legal basis
To provide you with the Quokka app and the Quokka services Name, date of birth, gender, photo, mobile phone number Contractual necessity
To allow you to engage in conversations with other users of the Quokka app and to allow users to listen to those conversations (both during the conversation live and at a later time once the conversation has ended) Your conversations via the Quokka app, and any information you voluntarily make publically available to other users during your conversation(s) Contractual necessity, legitimate interests – it is in our legitimate interest to allow users to use the Quokka app to engage in conversations, and for other users to listen to those conversations (both live during the conversation and at a later time once the conversation has ended)
To help you communicate with other users and take advantage of the Services Optional information that you choose to provide in your profile, which may include information about yourself, your work history, or your education, additional photos etc. Consent
To verify your identity and prevent fraud and to ensure the safety and security of users Mobile phone number Legitimate interests – it is in our legitimate interests to ensure that accounts are not set up fraudulently and to safeguard users of the Services
To send you marketing information about our offers and services Mobile phone number, account information Legitimate interests – it is in our legitimate interests to promote our products and services
To show city location information to you and other users Location data when you use the Services Consent
To take payment for fee- based services and to process cash-outs PayPal ID, name, address Legitimate interests – it is in our legitimate interests to make this feature available to users as part of the Services and to promote our products and services.
To contact you in order to run surveys for research purposes and to obtain feedback Email address and mobile phone number Legitimate interests – it is in our legitimate interests to make this function available to users as part of the Services
To carry out research and analysis to help us improve the Services Log and usage data, including IP address, traffic statistics, clickstream data, mobile carrier and search terms Legitimate interests – it is in our legitimate interests to analyse the way in which users are accessing and using our services so that we can further develop and improve the Services
To respond to correspondence and queries that you submit to us Mobile phone number, account information, email address and IP address Legitimate interests – it is in our legitimate interests to respond to your queries to ensure that we provide a good service to users and troubleshoot problems
To block accounts as part of our anti-spam procedures Email address, phone number, IP address and IP session information, username, user agent string Legitimate interests – it is in our legitimate interests to prevent unauthorised behaviour and to maintain the safety and security of our services
To block payment transactions as part of our anti-fraud procedures Name, IP address,email address,mobile number, cardholder name, payments received, type of payment, user ID, country Legitimate interests – it is in our legitimate interests to prevent unauthorised behaviour and to maintain the safety and security of our services
To help you and others find people you may know. Contact list from your device Consent

How long will Quokka keep my data?

We keep your personal information only as long as we need it for legitimate business purposes (as set out above) and as permitted by applicable law.

In practice, we delete or anonymise your information (other than conversations with other active users) upon deletion of your account (following the safety retention window), unless:

we must keep it to comply with applicable law (for instance, some “traffic data” is kept for one year to comply with statutory data retention obligations);
we must keep it to evidence our compliance with applicable law (for instance, records of consents to our Terms of Service, Privacy Policy and other similar consents are kept for five years);
there is an outstanding issue, claim or dispute requiring us to keep the relevant information until it is resolved; or
the information must be kept for our legitimate business interests, such as fraud prevention and enhancing users’ safety and security. For example, information may need to be kept to prevent a user who was banned for unsafe behaviour or security incidents from opening a new account.

Please note that your conversations with other users via the Quokka app may not be deleted if you delete your account if these conversations are with other active users of the Quokka app. Where Quokka uses machine learning, for example, to help us detect and prevent fraudulent card transactions, and to detect and prevent spam communications on the app (as explained above), we may need to keep personal information for a longer period than the retention periods explained above, to enable the machine learning to work properly. Where this is the case, we always seek to minimise the amount of personal information that is used and we ensure that it is ring-fenced and kept securely from other user personal information. We regularly review the period for which personal information is required for machine learning purposes and delete any identifiable information when it is no longer required.

What information does Quokka collect about me if I’m under 18?

Quokka does not knowingly collect any information about or market to anyone under the age of 18. If we become aware that somebody who is under 18 years old has registered with us and provided us with personal data, we will take steps to terminate that person’s registration and delete their profile information from Quokka. If we do delete a profile because you violated our age restriction rules, we may retain your mobile number and IP address to ensure that you do not try to get around our rules by creating a new profile.

Who does Quokka share information with?

We may share aggregated information that includes your personal data (but which doesn’t identify you directly), together with other information including log data with third parties for industry analysis and demographic profiling.

We share your data with the following categories of third-parties:

Information technology companies (hardware and software) which provide services to support our products
Fraud prevention and anti-spam providers to protect the service from criminal activity
Moderators to monitor activity on the site/apps and approve content
Law enforcement agencies, where we are required to by law or to protect the vital interests of a person

We ensure these parties must adhere to strict data protection and confidentiality provisions that are consistent with this Policy. Measures are taken to ensure that the data shared is non-attributable to the greatest extent possible.

In the event that Quokka or any of its affiliates undergoes a business transition or change of ownership, such as a merger, acquisition by another company, re- organisation, or sale of all or a portion of its assets, or in the event of insolvency or administration, we may be required to disclose your personal data.

Your data may be shared with other Quokka group companies, for example, to block accounts and suspected fraudulent payment transactions as part of our anti-spam and anti-fraud procedures.

Your California privacy rights

If you are a California resident, please note the following about how we collect, use and disclose your personal information, including additional rights you may have to your personal information:

  • CA Personal Information. Consistent with the “What is the legal basis that allows Quokka to use my data” section above, we may collect certain categories of information about California residents, such as:
    • Identifiers: name, gender, address, data of birth, photo, mobile phone number, e-mail address, IP address, username, device ID, contact list;
    • Commercial Information: PayPal ID, payments received, type of payment;
    • Internet or Other Electronic Network Activity: traffic statistics, clickstream data, mobile carrier;
    • Geolocation Data: physical location of your mobile device; and
    • Other Information: Information such as work history and education, search terms
  • Sources of CA Personal Information. Consistent with the “How is my personal information used by Quokka to provide the Quokka services to me?” section above, we may collect personal information directly from you, and automatically when you use Quokka.
  • Use of CA Personal Information. We process your personal information consistent with the “What is the legal basis that allows Quokka to use my data” section above.
  • CA Personal Information Sold or Disclosed for Business Purposes.
    • Sharing Personal Information for Business Purposes: We disclose the following categories of personal information for business purposes: Identifiers, Commercial Information, Internet or Other Electronic Network Activity, Geolocation Data, and other information to information technology, fraud prevention and anti-spam providers.
    • Sale of Personal Information: Our disclosure of Identifiers (specifically, name and email address) are sharing activities that are considered a sale under CCPA.
  • California Privacy Rights. As a California resident and subject to certain exceptions, you may have the right to know and/or delete your personal information. This includes the right to request information about the personal information we have “sold” or disclosed for business purposes, by contacting us at support@hiquokka.com.

    • To protect your privacy and security, we will verify your identity before responding to such a request, and may request you provide us with information matching the identifiers and commercial information already maintained by Quokka about you or additional proof where necessary. If you are making this request on behalf of someone else, we may request the authorized agent provide us with a copy of a valid power of attorney or evidence of the written authorization. You will not be penalized for exercising your rights to your personal information.

    “Do Not Sell My Info.” You also have the right to opt-out of Quokka “selling” your personal information as defined under CCPA. To exercise this right, please click the Do Not Sell My Personal Information link. If you are making this request on behalf of someone else, we may request the authorized agent provide us with a copy of a valid power of attorney or evidence of the written authorization. If we have actual knowledge that you are under the age of 16, we will not sell your personal information without proper consent.

    California’s “Shine the Light” law, Civil Code section 1798.83, requires certain businesses to respond to requests from California customers asking about the businesses’ practices related to disclosing personal information to third parties for the third parties’ direct marketing purposes. If you wish to find out about any rights you may have under California Civil Code section 1798.83, you can write to us at data@hiquokka.com.

    From time to time we may disclose your contact information to third parties to allow them to market their products or services to you or for other marketing purposes. This may be information we received from you offline and online. If you want us to stop further sharing your email contact information with third parties (if we have your email contact information), you may notify us at support@hiquokka.com. Please follow the instructions provided to you by third parties to unsubscribe from their messages. If you have opted-out as described above, and thereafter you choose to use a service or promotion that requires us to contact you or share your information with a third party, then your previous opt-out preferences will not apply to such service.

    In addition, under California law, operators of online services are required to disclose how they respond to “do not track” signals or other similar mechanisms that provide consumers the ability to exercise choice regarding the collection of personal information of a consumer over time and across third party online services, to the extent the operator engages in that collection. At this time, we do not track our users’ personal information over time and across third-party online services. This law also requires operators of online services to disclose whether third parties may collect personal information about their users’ online activities over time and across different online services when the users use the operator’s service. We do not knowingly permit third parties to collect personal information about an individual user’s online activities over time and across different online services when using the App.

    How does Quokka protect my personal data?

    Quokka has implemented appropriate security measures to protect and prevent the loss, misuse, and alteration of the information under our control, including your personal data. Our technical experts at Quokka work hard to ensure your secure use of our site.

    While we take reasonable precautions against possible security breaches of our website, member database and records, no website or internet transmission is completely secure and we cannot guarantee that unauthorised access, hacking, data loss, or other breaches will never occur. We urge you to take steps to keep your personal data safe (including your password) and to log out of your account after use. If you lose your password or give it out, or another service provider that you use suffers a data breach and you have used the same credentials with that service provider as you have with Quokka, your personal data may be compromised. If that happens, please report it to Support via Feedback Page.

    Where is my personal data kept?

    We want you to be able to access Quokka wherever you happen to be in the world. To enable us to provide that service, we operate a global network of servers including in the US. The hardware is located in third-party data centres but is owned by Amazon. If you want more information relating to the nature of the safeguards we have in place please email data@hiquokka.com.

    Does Quokka collect any other personal data about me?

    If you contact our Customer Support team via Feedback Page, we will receive your email address, and may track your IP address as well as the information you send to us to help resolve your query. We will keep records of our communications with you, including any complaints that we receive from you about other users (and from other users about you) for 6 years after deletion of your account.

    Does Quokka use my personal data for any other purpose?

    We may use your personal data to resolve disputes, troubleshoot problems and enforce our Terms of Service.

    From time to time we may run surveys for research purposes and we may contact you to find out if you would like to take part. Such surveys are optional and more information will be provided at the point of contact. We may also contact you for feedback purposes. If you do not wish to be contacted to take part in a survey, please contact our Customer Support Team at our Feedback Page.

    What are ‘cookies’ and what ‘cookies’ does Quokka use?

    We collect information by placing cookies on your computer or mobile. A cookie is a piece of text stored on your computer or mobile by your web browser. They are basically a tool that stores information about website visits, recognises you and your preferences each time you visit Quokka, and ensures site functionality and enables us to provide the services our members request.

    When you visit the publicly available sections of Quokka, a session ID cookie is placed on your computer that only lasts while you’re visiting. We also place persistent cookies (also known as local storage devices) on your device, so that Quokka remembers you and makes your login experience faster and easier. We may use persistent tracking cookies on your mobile device, mainly for security protection purposes, such as to prevent phishers, scammers, unauthorised login attempts, and to help you access your hacked account. We do not use any information whilst you are logged off.

    You may set your browser and your mobile settings to block cookies and local storage devices, but if you do so, you may not be able to access the features that Quokka offers.

    Quokka’s use of cookies and local storage devices basically falls into the following categories:

    • cookies related to the performance of Quokka’s site, such as analytics that help us determine how our site is performing and ensuring a smooth and trouble-free experience for our members and visitors;
    • cookies related to the functionality of Quokka’s site, such as remembering your preferences at log in or your preferred language or allowing you to chat, add photos and message Quokka users; and
    • third party cookies which link to other social networks and which you request via social plugins.

    Quokka uses cookies and local storage devices so that we know who you are, what interests you have and so that you can do the things online that you want to do, like chat with new people and share your content knowing that your data will be secure. Below is a table to explain Quokka’s cookie functions and why they’re used.

    Cookie Functions Cookie Purposes
    Analytics and research Quokka uses Google Analytics to collect information about how visitors use the Quokka site. We use the information to compile reports and to help us improve the site. The cookies collect information in an anonymous form, including the number of visitors to the site, where visitors have come to the site from and the pages they visited. For more information about Google’s privacy policy, please visit http://www.google.com/intl/en/policies/
    Authentication These cookies help us to identify our members so that when you’re logged in, you can enjoy Quokka’s offerings, experiences and various features, such as uploading photographs or when you’ve asked Quokka to ‘remember me’. These cookies also help to remember who invited you to join Quokka.
    Security and site integrity

    We use cookies and other devices, such as CAPTCHAs, to help keep Quokka and our members safe and secure. These cookies do things like protect Quokka users from spam and fraud.

    We may use persistent cookies, which will help us to ensure we have identified the same device is logging into the correct account. These types of cookies also help with our anti-spam measures and may help us to prevent phishers, scammers, unauthorised log-in attempts to your account and accessing any hacked accounts.
    Site features and services These cookies and local storage devices provide the functionality that our Quokka users enjoy, such as uploading of photographs, chats and your account settings.
    Performance TWe need to use certain cookies and local storage devices to ensure our members have the best possible experience, such as assisting with your navigation of our site, ensuring pages load up quickly and respond faster to your requests for Quokka services.

    Our use of cookies and local share devices, including the specific cookie names, may change over time, but will generally fall into the above categories. We will notify you of any important changes to our use of cookies and local storage devices.

    This Privacy Policy was last updated on 24 November 2020.