Privacy Policy
PADICHAT PRIVACY POLICY
Padichat (“Padichat”, “we”, “us”, “our”) is a community platform accessible at padichat.com and through any associated mobile or web applications.
We are committed to protecting your personal data and your right to privacy. This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect, why we collect it, how we use it, who we share it with, and what rights you have over your data.
By accessing or using Padichat — whether as a visitor, registered member, business listing owner, event attendee, or shop customer — you agree to the practices described in this Privacy Policy. If you do not agree, please do not use our platform.
This policy applies to:
- All visitors to padichat.com
- Registered community members
- Business listing owners
- Event attendees (free and paid)
- Shop customers
- OG membership subscribers
- Newsletter subscribers
We operate globally and comply with the following applicable data protection laws:
- GDPR — General Data Protection Regulation (European Union and EEA residents)
- UK GDPR — United Kingdom General Data Protection Regulation
- CCPA — California Consumer Privacy Act (California residents)
- NDPR — Nigeria Data Protection Regulation (Nigerian residents)
- PIPEDA — Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (Canadian residents)
- POPIA — Protection of Personal Information Act (South African residents)
- PDPA — Personal Data Protection Act (applicable jurisdictions)
Where applicable law requires a lawful basis for processing your data, we rely on:
- Consent — where you have given clear consent
- Contract performance — where processing is necessary to fulfil a contract with you (e.g. your membership, an order)
- Legitimate interests — where processing is necessary for our legitimate business interests and those interests are not overridden by your rights
- Legal obligation — where we must process data to comply with the law
Data Controller: Gocarts Technologies Inc. Operating as: Padichat Website: padichat.com Contact: [email protected]
For data protection enquiries, contact us at: [email protected]
4.1 Data You Provide Directly
Account registration:
- Full name or display name
- Email address
- Username
- Password (stored in encrypted form — we never see your plain-text password)
- Profile photo (optional)
- Bio and location (optional)
- Date of birth (optional, used for age verification only)
Community activity:
- Posts, comments, replies, and forum threads you create
- Private messages you send to other members
- Content you upload including photos, videos, and files
- Reactions, likes, and votes you submit
- Groups you join or create
- Events you create or RSVP to
Business listings:
- Business name, category, and description
- Business location, website, and contact details
- Your name and role at the business
- WhatsApp number (if provided)
Shop purchases:
- Billing name and address
- Shipping name and address
- Email address for order confirmation
- Payment information (processed securely by our payment processor — we do not store card details)
- Order history and transaction records
Event bookings:
- Name and email address
- Ticket type and quantity
- Payment information (processed by our ticketing provider)
- Dietary or accessibility requirements (if provided)
Membership subscriptions:
- Billing name and address
- Email address
- Subscription tier and billing cycle
- Payment information (processed securely — we do not store card details)
Contact and support:
- Name and email address
- Content of your message or enquiry
- Any attachments you send
Newsletter subscription:
- Email address
- Name (optional)
- Communication preferences
4.2 Data We Collect Automatically
When you visit or use Padichat we automatically collect:
Technical data:
- IP address
- Browser type and version
- Operating system and device type
- Screen resolution
- Referring website or source
- Pages visited and time spent
- Clickstream data and navigation behaviour
- Session duration
Cookies and tracking technologies (see Section 9 and our full Cookie Policy for details):
- Session cookies (keep you logged in)
- Preference cookies (remember your settings)
- Analytics cookies (understand how you use the platform)
- Advertising cookies (serve relevant ads via Google AdSense)
- Push notification tokens (via OneSignal)
4.3 Data We Receive from Third Parties
- Google Analytics — aggregated usage and behaviour data
- Google AdSense — advertising performance data
- OneSignal — push notification delivery and engagement data
- Printful — order fulfilment and shipping status data
- Payment processors — transaction confirmation and fraud signals (not card data)
- Social media platforms — if you choose to connect a social account or share content
We use your data for the following purposes:
5.1 To provide and operate the platform
- Creating and managing your account
- Displaying your profile and content to other members
- Processing community posts, comments, and interactions
- Sending you community notifications and activity alerts
5.2 To process transactions
- Processing shop orders and coordinating fulfilment through Printful
- Processing event ticket purchases
- Processing OG membership subscription payments and renewals
- Sending order confirmations, receipts, and shipping updates
5.3 To communicate with you
- Sending transactional emails (order confirmations, password resets, account alerts)
- Sending push notifications via OneSignal (you can opt out at any time)
- Sending the Padichat newsletter (only if you have subscribed or consented)
- Responding to your support enquiries
5.4 To improve the platform
- Analysing how members use the platform using Google Analytics
- Identifying bugs, performance issues, and areas for improvement
- Testing new features and functionality
- Conducting surveys and collecting feedback (with your participation)
5.5 To keep the community safe
- Monitoring for violations of our Community Guidelines and Terms of Use
- Investigating reports of abuse, harassment, or harmful content
- Enforcing bans and restrictions on prohibited accounts
- Detecting and preventing fraud, spam, and security threats
5.6 To serve advertising
- Displaying ads through Google AdSense to non-paying visitors
- Measuring advertising performance and reach
- Serving contextually relevant ads based on content and general interest
5.7 For business listings
- Publishing your business listing to the Padichat community
- Processing your listing subscription and billing
- Sending listing performance updates and renewal reminders
5.8 Legal and compliance purposes
- Complying with applicable laws and regulations
- Responding to lawful requests from courts, regulators, and law enforcement
- Establishing, exercising, or defending legal claims
We do not sell your personal data to third parties. We do not share your data for third-party marketing purposes without your explicit consent.
We share data only in the following circumstances:
6.1 Service providers (processors acting on our behalf)
| Provider | Purpose | Data shared |
|---|---|---|
| Printful | Order fulfilment and shipping | Name, shipping address, order details |
| Payment processor (Stripe / PayPal) | Secure payment processing | Payment data, billing address |
| Google Analytics | Platform analytics | Anonymised usage data, IP address |
| Google AdSense | Advertising | Cookie data, general interests, IP address |
| OneSignal | Push notifications | Device token, notification engagement |
| Mailchimp / Beehiiv | Email newsletters | Name, email address |
| WordPress / WooCommerce | Platform infrastructure | Account and order data |
| Namecheap / hosting provider | Website hosting | All data stored on our servers |
All service providers are contractually bound to process your data only as instructed by us and in accordance with applicable data protection law.
6.2 Other members (community visibility)
- Your username, profile photo, bio, and public posts are visible to other Padichat members and, where the forum is set to public, to non-registered visitors
- Your private messages are visible only to the intended recipient and platform administrators where required for safety investigations
6.3 Business listing visibility
- Your business name, description, category, location, website, and contact information are publicly visible on your Padichat business listing
6.4 Legal requirements
We may disclose your data where required by law, court order, or governmental authority, or where we believe in good faith that disclosure is necessary to protect our rights, your safety, or the safety of others.
6.5 Business transfers
In the event of a merger, acquisition, or sale of all or part of Padichat., your data may be transferred to the new entity. We will notify you before your data is transferred and becomes subject to a different privacy policy.
We retain your data for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes described in this policy, unless a longer retention period is required by law.
| Data type | Retention period |
|---|---|
| Account data | Duration of your account + 2 years after deletion |
| Community posts and content | Duration of your account; may remain visible if other members have interacted with it |
| Transaction and order records | 7 years (legal and tax compliance requirement) |
| Payment records | 7 years (financial regulation requirement) |
| Event booking records | 3 years after the event date |
| Support communications | 3 years after resolution |
| Analytics data | 26 months (Google Analytics default) |
| Marketing emails | Until you unsubscribe or withdraw consent |
| Push notification tokens | Until you opt out or uninstall |
When we no longer need your data, we securely delete or anonymise it.
Padichat operates globally. Your data may be transferred to and processed in countries outside your country of residence, including the United States, where some of our service providers are based.
When transferring data from the European Economic Area (EEA) or the United Kingdom to countries that do not provide an equivalent level of data protection, we ensure appropriate safeguards are in place, including:
- Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs) approved by the European Commission
- Adequacy decisions where applicable
- Other legally recognised transfer mechanisms
We use cookies and similar technologies on padichat.com. For full details of the cookies we use, why we use them, and how to manage your preferences, please see our Cookie Policy.
In summary, we use:
- Strictly necessary cookies — required for the platform to function (cannot be disabled)
- Preference cookies — remember your settings and choices
- Analytics cookies — Google Analytics to understand platform usage
- Advertising cookies — Google AdSense to serve relevant advertising
- Push notification tokens — OneSignal for community push notifications
You can manage your cookie preferences at any time using the cookie consent tool on our website, or through your browser settings.
We use OneSignal to send push notifications to members who have opted in. These notifications may include:
- Community activity alerts (replies, mentions, new posts)
- Event announcements and reminders
- New content from communities you follow
- Platform announcements
You can opt out of push notifications at any time by:
- Clicking the notification settings in your browser or device
- Adjusting notification preferences in your Padichat account settings
- Contacting us at [email protected]
We do not use push notifications for unsolicited advertising without your consent.
Padichat may display advertisements through Google AdSense. By using our platform you acknowledge that:
- Ads may be displayed to non-paying visitors and in certain areas of the platform
- Google uses cookies and similar technologies to serve ads based on your prior visits to our site and other sites on the internet
- Google’s use of advertising cookies enables it and its partners to serve ads based on your visit to our site and other sites on the internet
You can opt out of personalised advertising by visiting Google’s Ad Settings or by using the Network Advertising Initiative opt-out page.
Depending on your location and applicable law, you have the following rights over your personal data:
12.1 Rights for all users
- Right to access — request a copy of the personal data we hold about you
- Right to rectification — request correction of inaccurate or incomplete data
- Right to erasure — request deletion of your data in certain circumstances (“right to be forgotten”)
- Right to restriction — request that we restrict processing of your data
- Right to portability — receive your data in a portable format
- Right to object — object to processing based on legitimate interests or for direct marketing
- Right to withdraw consent — withdraw consent at any time where processing is based on consent
12.2 Additional rights for EEA/UK residents (GDPR / UK GDPR)
- Right to lodge a complaint with your national supervisory authority
- Rights regarding automated decision-making and profiling
12.3 Additional rights for California residents (CCPA)
- Right to know what personal information is collected, used, shared, or sold
- Right to delete personal information
- Right to opt out of the sale of personal information (we do not sell personal information)
- Right to non-discrimination for exercising your CCPA rights
12.4 Additional rights for Nigerian residents (NDPR)
- Right to request information about how your data is processed
- Right to object to processing
- Right to withdraw consent
To exercise any of these rights, contact us at [email protected]. We will respond within 30 days. We may need to verify your identity before processing your request.
Padichat is not intended for children under the age of 16. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children under 16. If you are under 16, do not use our platform or provide any personal information.
If we discover we have collected personal data from a child under 16 without appropriate parental consent, we will delete that data immediately.
If you are a parent or guardian and believe your child has provided us with personal data, contact us immediately at [email protected].
We implement appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your personal data against unauthorised access, alteration, disclosure, or destruction. These measures include:
- Encrypted storage of passwords using industry-standard hashing
- HTTPS encryption for all data transmission
- Regular security audits and vulnerability assessments
- Access controls limiting who within our team can access personal data
- Secure payment processing through PCI-DSS compliant providers (we never store card details)
- Regular data backups
No method of transmission over the internet or electronic storage is 100% secure. While we strive to protect your data, we cannot guarantee absolute security. In the event of a data breach that poses a risk to your rights and freedoms, we will notify you and the relevant authorities as required by applicable law.
Our platform may contain links to third-party websites, social media platforms, and services. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of these third parties. We encourage you to read their privacy policies before providing any personal information.
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, technology, legal requirements, or for other operational reasons. When we make material changes, we will:
- Update the “Last updated” date at the top of this policy
- Post a notice on the Padichat platform
- Send an email notification to registered members where the changes are significant
Your continued use of Padichat after any changes constitutes your acceptance of the updated policy.
For any privacy-related enquiries, to exercise your rights, or to raise a concern:
Email: [email protected] General contact: [email protected] Website: padichat.com/contact
If you are an EEA resident and are not satisfied with our response, you have the right to lodge a complaint with your national data protection supervisory authority.