BARKUS PRIVACY POLICY

Effective Date: July 15, 2025

This Privacy Policy describes how Barkus ("we," "us," or "our") collects, uses, and discloses your information when you use our mobile application and related services (collectively, the "Services"). Your privacy is important to us, and we are committed to protecting your personal information in accordance with applicable U.S. laws, including the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA), and other relevant state and federal regulations.

By accessing or using our Services, you agree to this Privacy Policy. If you do not agree with our practices, please do not use our Services.

1. INFORMATION WE COLLECT

We collect the following categories of personal information:

Identifiers: Username, email address, IP address, device identifiers
Account Information: Password and authentication information
Commercial Information: Product images, barcode numbers, product names, quantities, expiration dates
User Content: Category information, store information, branch information, personnel information
Group Membership Information: Workgroup memberships, permission settings
Order and Supplier Information: Order lists, order status, supplier information
Subscription Information: Premium membership status, purchase date, subscription expiration date
Usage Data: Information about how you use our application, including login/logout information
Feedback and Suggestions: Information you provide when submitting feedback, suggestions, or contacting customer support
Notification Records: Data about notification deliveries and interactions

2. HOW WE COLLECT YOUR INFORMATION

We collect information in the following ways:

Information You Provide: When you register for an account, create or modify content, make purchases, or communicate with us
Automatic Collection: When you use our application, we automatically collect certain information, including IP address, device information, and usage data
Third-Party Sources: We may receive information from payment processors, analytics providers, and other third-party service providers

3. HOW WE USE YOUR INFORMATION

We use your personal information for the following business purposes:

Providing product and inventory management services
Enabling barcode scanning and cataloging features
Managing order lists and supplier information
Facilitating workgroup management
Enabling store, branch, and personnel management
Managing product categories and organization
Sending notifications for products approaching expiration dates
Improving our products and services
Troubleshooting technical issues
Processing and managing premium subscriptions
Complying with legal obligations
With your consent: marketing and promotional communications
Analyzing user feedback to enhance the application
Monitoring and improving application performance and security

4. SHARING OF YOUR INFORMATION

We may share your information with the following categories of third parties:

Service Providers: Companies that help us provide our Services, including cloud storage providers, payment processors, and analytics providers
Workgroup Members: If you use our workgroup feature, certain information will be shared with other members of your workgroup according to their permission levels
Payment Processors: For premium subscription processing, limited information is shared with payment providers (e.g., Google Pay)
Legal Requirements: We may disclose your information if required to do so by law or in response to valid requests from public authorities
Business Transfers: In connection with any merger, sale of company assets, financing, or acquisition of all or a portion of our business by another company

We do not sell your personal information as defined by the CCPA/CPRA.

5. DATA RETENTION

We retain your information for as long as necessary to provide you with our Services and for legitimate business purposes, such as maintaining the performance of the Services, preventing fraud, meeting our legal obligations, resolving disputes, and enforcing our agreements. When we no longer need your personal information, we will securely delete or anonymize it.

Specific Retention Periods:

Account Information: Retained for the duration of your account plus 12 months after account deletion
Subscription Information: Retained for the duration of active subscriptions plus 24 months for business analytics purposes
Usage Data: Retained for 25 months
Feedback and Support Communications: Retained for 3 years

Account Deletion Process:

You can delete your account through the "Account Settings" section of our application or by contacting us directly. When you delete your account:

Your profile information will be permanently deleted within 30 days
Backup copies may take up to 90 days to be deleted
Information shared with others (e.g., in workgroups) may remain visible
Information required for legal compliance may be retained

6. YOUR PRIVACY RIGHTS

Depending on your location, you may have the following rights regarding your personal information:

Right to Know: You may request information about the personal information we've collected about you, including the categories of information, sources, purposes, and third parties with whom we share it
Right to Access: You can request a copy of the personal information we have about you
Right to Delete: You can request that we delete your personal information, subject to certain exceptions
Right to Correct: You can request that we correct inaccurate personal information we maintain about you
Right to Opt-Out: You can opt out of the "sale" or "sharing" of your personal information, as defined under applicable laws
Right to Non-Discrimination: We will not discriminate against you for exercising any of these rights
Right to Data Portability: You can request your information in a structured, commonly used, and machine-readable format

To exercise these rights, please contact us using the information in the "Contact Us" section below. We may need to verify your identity before responding to your request. We will respond to all legitimate requests within 45 days.

State-Specific Privacy Rights:

California Residents: If you are a California resident, the CCPA/CPRA provides you with specific rights regarding your personal information:

Right to know what personal information is collected, used, shared, or sold
Right to delete personal information held by businesses
Right to opt-out of the sale of personal information
Right to non-discrimination when exercising privacy rights
Right to correct inaccurate personal information
Right to limit use and disclosure of sensitive personal information

Virginia Residents: The Virginia Consumer Data Protection Act (VCDPA) provides Virginia residents with specific rights, including:

Right to confirm whether we are processing your personal data
Right to access your personal data
Right to correct inaccuracies in your personal data
Right to delete personal data provided by or obtained about you
Right to obtain a copy of your personal data in a portable format
Right to opt out of the processing of personal data for targeted advertising

Colorado, Connecticut, and Utah Residents: Similar rights are provided under the Colorado Privacy Act (CPA), Connecticut Data Privacy Act (CTDPA), and Utah Consumer Privacy Act (UCPA).

To make a request under these state laws, please contact us as described in the "Contact Us" section.

7. CHILDREN'S PRIVACY

Our Services are not directed to children under 16. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 16. If you are a parent or guardian and believe your child has provided us with personal information, please contact us, and we will delete such information.

If we learn that we have collected personal information from a child under 13 without parental consent, we will take steps to delete that information as quickly as possible, in compliance with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA).

8. DATA SECURITY

We implement appropriate technical and organizational security measures designed to protect your personal information. However, no method of transmission over the Internet or electronic storage is 100% secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

Our security measures include:

Encryption of personal data in transit and at rest
Regular security assessments and vulnerability testing
Access controls and authentication requirements
Regular security training for personnel
Incident response procedures

Data Breach Notification:

In the event of a data breach that compromises your personal information, we will notify you and relevant authorities without undue delay, in accordance with applicable laws. Our notification will include:

The nature and scope of the breach
The types of information affected
Steps we are taking to address the breach
Recommendations for protecting yourself
Contact information for questions

9. PUSH NOTIFICATIONS

Our application uses push notifications to provide you with important information about expiring products, inventory status, and system updates. We may also use them for marketing communications with your consent. You can manage your notification preferences through your device settings or within our application's "Notification Settings" section.

10. WORKGROUPS AND DATA SHARING

When you create or join a workgroup, certain information (username, added products, categories, store and branch information) may be shared with other workgroup members. Information shared within the group can be viewed by other members according to their permission levels. As a workgroup administrator, you can assign different permission levels to other members.

11. SUBSCRIPTION PAYMENTS

Premium subscription fees are collected through the Google Pay payment system. Your credit card information is not stored on Barkus servers, but is processed solely by Google. Your subscription information (premium status, purchase date, and expiration date) is stored in our system solely for service provision purposes.

12. COOKIES AND SIMILAR TECHNOLOGIES

Our mobile application may use technologies similar to cookies, such as local storage, to enhance your user experience. These technologies help us:

Remember your preferences and settings
Understand how you interact with our Services
Provide personalized content and features
Analyze the performance of our Services

You can manage how these technologies are used through your device settings or application preferences.

13. INTERNATIONAL DATA TRANSFERS

Your information may be transferred to, and processed in, countries other than the country in which you reside. These countries may have data protection laws that are different from those in your country. By using our Services, you consent to the transfer of your information to these countries.

When we transfer personal information outside of the United States, we implement appropriate safeguards, including:

Data processing agreements with service providers
Standard contractual clauses approved by relevant authorities
Implementation of security measures to protect transferred data

14. CHANGES TO THIS PRIVACY POLICY

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. The updated version will be indicated by an updated "Effective Date" at the top of this Privacy Policy. We encourage you to review this Privacy Policy frequently to stay informed about how we are protecting your information.

For significant changes to this Privacy Policy, we will make reasonable efforts to provide notice, such as through the Services or via email. Your continued use of our Services after any changes to this Privacy Policy constitutes your acceptance of such changes.

15. CONTACT US

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, please contact us at:

Email: t.gencosman@gmail.com

Data Controller: Barkus

Representative: Tolga Gencosman

Response Time: We aim to respond to all legitimate privacy inquiries within 10 business days.

16. ADDITIONAL RIGHTS AND DISCLOSURES

Do Not Track Signals

Some browsers have a "Do Not Track" feature that lets you tell websites you do not want to have your online activities tracked. We currently do not respond to "Do Not Track" signals.

Third-Party Links

Our Services may contain links to third-party websites or services. We are not responsible for the privacy practices or the content of such third-party websites or services.

Accessibility

We are committed to ensuring this Privacy Policy is accessible to individuals with disabilities, in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). If you encounter any difficulty accessing this Privacy Policy, please contact us at t.gencosman@gmail.com, and we will provide you with an accessible version.

Authorized Agent

You may designate an authorized agent to submit requests on your behalf. We may require verification of your authorized agent's authority to act on your behalf.

Age Restrictions

Our Services are intended for users who are 16 years of age or older. If you are under the age of 16, please do not use our Services.

Notice at Collection

This Privacy Policy serves as our notice at collection as required under various state privacy laws. It describes the categories of personal information we collect and the purposes for which we use the information at or before the point of collection.

By using our Services, you acknowledge that you have read and understood this Privacy Policy.