Linko is run by Alphagrid Technology, Tanzania ("we", "us"). This policy explains what information Linko collects, how it is used, who can see it, how long we keep it and the choices you have. We designed Linko so that you decide what you share and with whom.
1. Information you give us
- Account: your email address and password (passwords are stored only in encrypted form by our database provider; we never see them).
- Age confirmation: that you confirmed you are 18 or older when you signed up.
- Profile: your name, photo, profession, company and interests.
- Links & Contact: the social media accounts, website, email address, phone and WhatsApp numbers you choose to add.
- Sharing choices: what you allow others to see (Sharing & Privacy, each QR code, each event).
- Events you create or join: event details, cover photos, announcements, chat messages and photos, poll votes, and what you choose to share at each event (including with its organiser).
- Businesses you list: business details, address, opening hours, contact details, photos, menus, products, services, rooms and amenities.
- Reviews you write, businesses and events you save, people you block, and reports you send us.
- Messages you send to our support address.
2. Information collected as you use Linko
- Connections: who you connect with, how (QR code or event) and when, and the connection requests you send, receive, accept or decline.
- Activity on businesses and events: when you view a business or event page, or tap Call, WhatsApp, Email, Website, Directions, Share, Save or Join on it, together with where you came from (for example Discover or a QR code). Owners and organisers see only totals, never who did it.
- Address suggestions: how many address searches you make per day (to apply a daily limit).
- Chat reading: when you last opened an event's chat (to show unread counts).
- Notifications: the notifications we create for you (for example a connection request or an event reminder), whether you read them, and your choices in Settings → Notifications. If you allow notifications, a code that lets us send alerts to your phone (a push token).
- Crash reports: if the app crashes or hits an error, a technical report (the app version, phone model and system, and where in the app the error happened). It does not include your name, email, profile or messages.
- Technical information our service providers record to run and protect the service, such as your IP address and the time of a request.
3. Your device's features
- Location: used only on your phone, when you allow it, to show businesses and events near you and to suggest nearby addresses. Your location is never stored by Linko.
- Notifications: if you allow them, Linko can show alerts on your phone. You can turn them off in your phone's settings, or choose which ones you get in Settings → Notifications.
- Camera: used only to scan QR codes and, if you choose, to take a photo you then upload.
- Photos: used only for the pictures you pick to upload.
- Linko keeps your sign-in and some recently viewed information on your phone so the app opens quickly. This is stored in encrypted form and removed when you sign out.
4. How we use information
- To run Linko: your account, profile, QR codes, connections, events, businesses, chat, saved items and search.
- To show you relevant things, such as businesses and events near you or in a place you pick.
- To give business owners and event organisers statistics (Insights) made of totals only.
- To keep Linko safe: limits on how often some actions can be used, blocking, reports, and fixing problems.
- To send you emails needed for your account, such as sign-up and password reset codes.
- To send you notifications about your connections, events and businesses, as chosen in Settings → Notifications.
- To comply with the law.
- We do not sell your personal information, and we do not use it for advertising.
5. Who can see what
Linko shows other people only what you choose to share:
- Someone who scans your QR code sees your name, photo and the items you chose for that QR code (contact values only after you accept their request).
- People you are connected with see the items you shared with them.
- At an event, other attendees see your name and photo and what you chose to share there, unless you turn on "Hide me from People" (the organiser still sees you).
- Event organisers also see the contact details you chose under "Share with the organizer", and can save them in a list (export). Once exported, those lists are outside Linko's control.
- Published businesses and public events, including their photos and reviews, can be seen by anyone using Linko. Private events can be seen only with their QR code or link.
- People you block, and people who block you, can't see each other in Linko.
6. Service providers
We use trusted providers to run Linko. They process information only on our behalf and under their own security and privacy commitments:
- Supabase: database, file storage and sign-in. Linko's data is stored in the European Union (Frankfurt, Germany).
- Google: maps, directions links and address suggestions (Google Maps Platform). The text you type for an address search and, if you allow it, your approximate position are sent to Google to return suggestions.
- Email delivery providers: to send sign-up and password reset codes, and Namecheap Private Email for our support mailbox.
- Expo: to build and deliver the app and its updates, and to deliver notifications to your phone (through Google Firebase Cloud Messaging on Android and Apple Push Notification service on iPhone). A notification's text passes through them on its way to you.
- Sentry: to receive crash and error reports so we can fix problems.
- Google Play and the Apple App Store: to distribute the app. If Linko ever offers paid features, payments are handled by them; we never receive your card details.
7. International transfers
Linko is used worldwide. Your information is stored in the European Union and may be processed by our providers in other countries, including the United States. Where the law requires it, we rely on the safeguards our providers offer for such transfers.
8. How long we keep information
- Your account and what you add stay until you delete them or your account.
- Quick Share QR codes stop working after 12 hours, or when you make a new one.
- Activity on businesses and events is deleted after 13 months, and right away when the business or event is deleted.
- Daily address-search counts are kept only for the current day.
- Notifications are deleted after 90 days. Your phone's push token is deleted when you sign out on it.
- Crash reports are deleted by Sentry after 90 days at most.
- When you delete your account, everything listed under "Delete account" in the app is deleted straight away, including your photos. Copies in our providers' backups are removed as those backups expire.
9. Your choices and rights
- See and change your information in the app at any time (Edit Profile, Links & Contact, Sharing & Privacy, each event's My Profile).
- Remove a connection, leave an event, hide yourself from an event's People list, or block someone.
- Delete your account in Settings → Delete account. If you can't use the app, email us and we will help.
- Depending on where you live, you may also have the right to request a copy of your information, ask us to correct or delete it, object to or restrict some uses, and complain to your data protection authority. Contact [email protected]; we answer within 30 days.
10. Security
Information is sent over encrypted connections. Access to it is controlled by strict rules in our database, so people only reach what they are allowed to see. No service can be completely secure, so please keep your password private.
11. Age
Linko is only for people aged 18 or older. If we learn an account belongs to someone younger, we will delete it.
12. Changes
If we change this policy, we will update the date above and, for important changes, tell you in the app or by email before they apply.
13. Contact
Alphagrid Technology, Tanzania. Privacy questions and requests: [email protected]. Anything else: [email protected].