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Personal Data (Privacy) Policy Statement (“Privacy Policy”)

Matterbase pledges to meet fully with the requirements of the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance, Chapter 486 of the laws of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China. In doing so, Matterbase will ensure compliance by its staff to the strictest standards of security and confidentiality in respect of all personal information and data submitted by users through the use of Matterbase’s site (the “Service”). Matterbase will not, subject to the terms herein, release such information to anyone without the prior consent of the relevant user(s) of the Service (whether registered or not) (“User(s)”). Users are strongly recommended to read this Privacy Statement carefully to understand Matterbase’s policy and practices with regard to the treatment of personal information and data through the use of the Service. This Privacy Statement is applicable to both registered and unregistered Users, and the terms herein may be updated, revised, varied and/or amended from time to time as Matterbase may deem necessary and/or appropriate.

1. Purpose of Collection and Use of Personal Data

In the course of using the Service, Users may disclose or be asked to provide personal information and/or data. In order to have the benefit of and enjoy various services offered by the Service, it may be necessary for Users to provide to the Service with their personal information and/or data. Matterbase may ask for certain information when Users register for a Matterbase account or correspond with Matterbase (including but not limited to a username, your first and last names, phone number, profession, e-mail address, payment information, etc.). Matterbase may also collect any messages that the Users send us through the Service (including but not limited to user feedback, search queries, preferences and prompts), and may collect information from Users through the contents posted to the Service (such as images and texts). Matterbase use this information to operate, maintain, and provide the features and functionality of the Service to correspond to Users, to address any issues raise by the Users and to obtain statistics from Users to analyze usage of the Service in order to help its further development. Although Users are not obliged to provide certain information and/or data as requested on the Service, Matterbase will not be able to render certain contents on the Service in the event that Users fail to do so, and the experience in using the Service may not be as enjoyable.

Matterbase strives to only collect personal data which are necessary and adequate but not excessive in relation to the purposes set out hereinabove.

Suppliers

Matterbase collects the company name, business address and billing address of Suppliers. It also collects the name, email address and phone number of a primary contact (also referred to on the Service as the ‘administrator’). Suppliers can choose to add additional users to their account, in which case Matterbase will collect the name and email address of those other users. Suppliers can change the company details including billing address, or any other details by contacting the designated Account Manager. Matterbase use these details to manage Supplier’s accounts, including sending Supplier order requests from Designers or Architects, contacting Suppliers if there is an issue with their vitual samplings.

Information we receive from third-party applications

Matterbase may receive information about Users from third parties. For example, if Users access the Service through a third-party connection or log-in, such as Facebook Connect, by “following,” “liking,” adding the Service application, linking your account to the Service, etc., that third party may pass certain information about your use of its service to Matterbase. This information could include, but is not limited to, the user ID associated with your account (for example, your Facebook UID), an access token necessary to access that service, demographic or interest data, content viewed or actions taken on the application, any information that you have permitted the third party to share with us, and any information you have made public in connection with that service. You should always review, and if necessary, adjust your privacy settings on third-party websites and services before linking or connecting them to the Service. You may also unlink your third party account from the Service by adjusting your settings on the third party service. If you unlink your third party account, we will no longer receive information collected about you in connection with that service. And if you choose to integrate with a third party application to incorporate elements into your designs, enhance media, supercharge your workflow or share to social media, we could receive data from such apps (as well as disclose data to such apps). If you communicate with us via social media, including Instagram, Facebook or X and choose to share your user generated content with us, we may receive information such as videos you’ve created, your photo, your account name and your comments about Matterbase.

Information we receive from other third parties

We may obtain information about you from third-party sources, such as public sources, social media platforms (like Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, X and other platforms) and third-party data providers and information services. Examples of the information we may obtain from such third parties include your company, company size, job title and seniority, industry and other profile information. We may share your email address or other information in order to obtain and combine this information with information that you provide to us or other information that we collect when you use our Service. We do this to better understand your profile and interests so that we can deliver customized offers and other personalized services to you, such as to serve relevant offers to you via email, chatbots, phone or personalized advertising. You can opt out of Matterbase collecting more data about you from third-party providers to tailor your experience and messages we send you. Some of these providers may combine data collected from our Service through cookies, pixels, tags and similar technologies, with email or mailing addresses to which they have access to help us serve relevant offers to you. If you are not a Matterbase subscriber, we may obtain your contact details from a social media platform, such as LinkedIn, or a third party data provider, so that we can promote our product offerings and subscriptions to you if we think they would be helpful in your role. We also may have obtained your details from another Matterbase user, for example when they have shared a design with you.We may also receive information about you and your engagement with our advertisements from our ad servers, ad networks and social media platforms. This may include the websites you visited before coming to Matterbase so that we can determine advertising effectiveness and pay our referral partners. If you prefer not to have your information used for this purpose, you can opt out at any time by emailing us.

Information we collect from you automatically

‍When you use our Service, we collect information about how you use our Service. We use that information to provide you with Services, to help keep Matterbase more secure and respectful for everyone, and more relevant to you. We automatically collect data such as user activity data, analytics event data, and clickstream data for data analytics and machine learning, and to help us measure traffic and usage trends for the Service. We may also use third party analytics tools that automatically collect information sent by your browser or mobile device, including the pages you visit and other information that assists us in improving the Service.

Cookies

We will also obtain other data from your automatically including cookies information and information taken from similar technologies to help you log in faster, enhance your navigation through the site, remember your preferences and generally improve the user experience. You can control or reset your cookies and similar technologies through your web browser, which will allow you to customize your cookie preferences and to refuse all cookies or to indicate when a cookie is being sent. However, some features of the Service may not function properly if the ability to accept cookies is disabled.

Log file information

When you use our Service, our servers automatically record certain log file information. These server logs may include anonymous information such as your web request, browser type, referring / exit pages and URLs, number of clicks and how you interact with links on the Service, domain names, landing pages, pages viewed, and other such information.

Location data

Matterbase collects information in order to understand where its users are located for a number of reasons. It helps Matterbase to localize and personalize content, comply with local laws, undertake aggregated analytics, understand if its users use Matterbase for domestic, business or educational use, improve advertising efficiency and estimate the tax liability of Matterbase. We may collect your precise or approximate location:- from you, when you provide, correct or confirm your location (e.g., when you purchase products from us);- by inferring your location from your IP address; and- from our partners or your payment provider.

Content within your account

‍We receive content that you create within your Matterbase account and media you upload for use within it, such as designs, images, documents, videos, and metadata about your content.

2. How we use your information

‍The information we collect from you are for the purposes set out below:

‍a. Providing you with the Service: We use the information that you directly give us to provide the Service to you. This includes allowing you to log in to Matterbase, operating and maintaining the Service, giving you access to your designs and billing you for transactions that you make via the Service. We also use information we collect about you automatically to remember information about you so that you will not have to re-enter it during your visit or the next time you visit the site.

b. For data analytics and Service improvement: ‍We use information about you to enhance Matterbase user experience and the Service, including the analyzation of the effectiveness of our Services for development. We may analyze your activity, content, media uploads and related data in your account to understand you better and to customize the Service, and to train our algorithms, models and AI products and services using machine learning to develop, improve and provide our Service. 

c. To customize Service for you: ‍We use and combine the information you provide us and information about you that we collect automatically and receive from other sources (including information we receive on and off our Service) and combine it with information about the behavior of other users to make sure that your use of the Service is customized to your needs. For example, to recommend templates, materials and elements that are likely to be useful to you in a design, we may use information derived from your prior behavior on our Service, the use of these elements by other people working on similar designs and other inferred information.

d. To communicate with you about the Service: ‍We use the information to communicate with you about our Service. For example, we may send you emails about technical issues, security alerts or administrative matters, and changes to our policies and terms. If you are open to hear from us, you will also receive offers and promotions based on your preferences from time to time. You can opt-out from receiving the messages at any time.

‍e. For advertising purposes: ‍We use information about you, including cookies information and other information we (and our third-party partners) collect from you automatically about your use of the Service, to serve, personalize and measure the effectiveness of advertising on the Service and third-party sites and platforms. This includes showing you advertising we think you might find interesting as well as displaying advertising to potential new users that have similar interests.

‍f. For security measures: ‍We use information about you and from within your account to monitor activity to provide safety and security to our Users. This includes verifying your identity, authenticating your account, and defending against fraud, unauthorized use, and illegal activity. We also use the information to evaluate and affect the safety and quality of content on Matterbase - this includes investigating and enforcing our policies and terms, as well as applicable law.

‍g. For matters that you have specifically consented to: Matterbase may seek your consent to use your information for a particular purpose from time to time. Where you consent to our doing so, we will use it for that purpose. Where you no longer want us to use your information for that purpose you may withdraw your consent to this use.

‍h. For troubleshooting, error resolution and service improvement: ‍We may need to review your designs to support your request for help, correct general errors with the Matterbase Service or improve our services. We may collect information from you to resolve technical issues you experience with the Service, and to ensure that we can repair and improve the Service for all users.

3. Sharing your information

a. How we share your information

‍We share your information with third-party service providers for the purpose of providing the Service to you, to facilitate Matterbase’s legitimate interests or if you consent. These service providers are vetted by us, and will only be provided with access to your information as is reasonably necessary for the purpose that Matterbase has engaged the service provider. We require that such third parties comply with applicable laws, and have security, privacy and data retention policies consistent with our policies. Some of the third parties with whom Matterbase may share your personal information are service providers who assist Matterbase with functions such as: Payment services providers who facilitate payments; Customer support and customer management; Email services; Hosting and storage; Data analytics and predictive analytics; Data labelling and machine learning; Security such as providers with fraud detection services; Advertising and marketing services; Delivery of physical products; and Other service providers.  ‍

b. How you can share your User Content

‍(i) Public Posts
Any information or content that you voluntarily disclose for posting to the Service, such as public User Content, becomes available to be read, collected and used by the public. When you set your profile to public, or make User Content public, your information becomes publicly available globally, searchable by other users and can be indexed by search engines. If you or Matterbase remove information that you posted to the Service, copies remain viewable in cached and archived pages of the Service, or if other users have copied or saved that information.

(ii) Designs
You may share your Matterbase designs to your social media accounts, including LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, X, Pinterest and TikTok. You should ensure that you familiarize yourself with the privacy policies of each of these services and any privacy settings that may apply to the designs you choose to share on those accounts.

If you accept an invitation to view or edit a Matterbase design: your name and avatar will be visible to anyone else in the design at the same time as you, whether or not they are logged in to Matterbase or anonymous; your name and time of login will become available to any other person that also has edit access to that design, whether or not they are within your Team. If you do not wish this to occur, please email us. As the owner or editor of an individual design, you can choose to give other people access to your designs using the link sharing settings.

‍c. Sharing in connection with a merger, acquisition or reorganization

We may share, sell, or transfer information about you in connection with a merger, acquisition, reorganization, sale of assets, or bankruptcy. This Privacy Policy will apply to your personal information that is shared with (before and after the close of any transaction) or transferred to the new entity.

‍d. Your employer

‍If you access Matterbase with an email address issued to you by your employer (either a business, non-profit or educational institution), and your employer has established an account with Matterbase (or is considering doing so), you acknowledge that Matterbase may share your name, email, and basic account information with your employer. If you do not use Matterbase in connection with your employment and do not wish for this information to be shared with your employer you can opt-out at any time.

e. Through our APIs.

We use technology like APIs and embeds to make public information available to websites, apps, and others for their use, for example, displaying posts on a news website or analyzing discussions about Matterbase. We generally make this content available in limited quantities for free and charge licensing fees for large-scale access. We have standard terms that govern how this information can be used, and a compliance program to enforce these terms. But these individuals and companies are not affiliated with Matterbase, and their offerings may not reflect updates you make on Matterbase.

f. Requested by authorities and regulators

We may preserve, use, share, or disclose your information if we believe that it is reasonably necessary to comply with a law, regulation, legal process, or governmental request; protect the safety of any person, protect the safety or integrity of our platform, including to help prevent spam, abuse, or malicious actors on our Services; explain why we have removed content or accounts from our Services (e.g., for a violation of our policies and Terms); address fraud, security, or technical issues; or protect our rights or property, or the rights or property of those who use our Services.

g. With our Affiliates.

We may share information amongst our affiliates to provide our Services.

4. How we transfer, store and protect your data

‍Your information collected through the Service will be stored and processed in Hong Kong. Matterbase transfers information that we collect about you, including personal information, to affiliated entities, and to other third parties across borders and from your country or jurisdiction to other countries or jurisdictions around the world. As a result, we may transfer information, including personal information, to a country and jurisdiction that does not have the same data protection laws as your jurisdiction. However, we always take steps to ensure that your information remains protected wherever it is stored and processed in accordance with applicable laws. Where required under applicable laws, you consent to the transfer of information to Hong Kong and the use and disclosure of information about you as described in this Privacy Policy.

5. Keeping your information safe

‍Matterbase cares about the security of your information, and uses appropriate safeguards to preserve the integrity and security of all information collected through the Service. To protect your privacy and security, we take reasonable steps (such as requesting a unique password) to verify your identity before granting you access to your account. You are responsible for maintaining the secrecy of your unique password and account information, and for controlling access to your email communications from Matterbase, at all times. However, Matterbase cannot ensure or warrant the security of any information you transmit to Matterbase or guarantee that information on the Service may not be accessed, disclosed, altered, or destroyed. 

‍6. Your choices about your information

You can access, correct, or modify the information you provided to us by editing your profile and adjusting your account settings. To protect your privacy and maintain security, we take steps to verify your identity before granting you access to your personal information or complying with a deletion, portability, or other related request. We may, in certain situations, reject your request for access, correction, or portability, for example, we may reject access where you are unable to verify your identity.

‍a. Opting out of collection of your information through tracking

technologies ‍Please refer to your mobile device or browser’s technical information for instructions on how to delete and disable cookies, and other tracking/recording tools. Depending on your type of device, it may not be possible to delete or disable tracking mechanisms on your mobile device. Note that disabling cookies and/or other tracking tools prevents Matterbase or its business partners from tracking your browser’s activities in relation to the Service, and for use in targeted advertising activities by  Matterbase, including via third-party websites. However, doing so may disable many of the features available through the Service.

‍b. Rights in respect of your Information ‍The laws of some countries

grant particular rights in respect of personal information. Individuals in certain countries, including the European Union, United Kingdom, and Brazil have the right to: Request access to their information; Request that we correct inaccuracies in their information ;Request that their information be deleted or that we restrict access to it; Request a structured electronic version of their information; and Object to our use of their information.

Should you wish to make a request in respect of your personal information please contact us. You also have the right to object to our processing of personal data about you for marketing purposes and we will stop processing data for that purpose. In some circumstances, Matterbase will not be able to comply with your request regarding your personal data. If we are unable to remove any of your information, we will explain why. For example, we may not be able to provide a copy of your information where it infringes on the rights of another user. In some cases, you may have shared your information with third parties, such as by publishing a design on a third party’s website. In that case Matterbase will not be able to delete the information, and you will need to contact that third party directly.

7. How long we keep your information

‍We keep your profile information and content for the duration of your account. Following termination or deactivation of your user account, Matterbase will retain your profile information and User Content for a commercially reasonable time, and for as long as we have a valid purpose to do so. Public content can exist elsewhere even after you remove it from Matterbase. For example, search engines and other third parties may retain copies of your posts or designs longer, based upon their own privacy policies, even after they are deleted or expire on Matterbase. We will retain your information for the purpose of complying with the legal and audit obligations, and for backup and archival, safety and security purposes.

‍8. Links to other websites and services

‍We are not responsible for the practices employed by websites or services linked to or from the Service, including the information or content contained therein. Please remember that when you use a link to go from the Service to another website, our Privacy Policy does not apply to third-party websites or services. Your browsing and interaction on any third-party website or service, including those that have a link or advertisement on our website, are subject to that third party’s own rules and policies. In addition, you acknowledge that we are not responsible for and we do not exercise control over any third parties that you authorize to access your User Content. If you are using a third-party website or service (like Facebook) and you allow such a third party access to your User Content you do so at your own risk. This Privacy Policy does not apply to information we collect by other means (including offline) or from other sources other than through the Service.

9. Additional information for users in Europe

‍This section of the policy applies to Matterbase users that are located in the European Economic Area (EEA), Switzerland or United Kingdom (UK). Matterbase processes your personal data in accordance with European laws and regulations, such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR). ‍

‍a. Controller's details

‍For the purposes of the GDPR and UK GDPR, Matterbase is the controller of your personal data. In certain circumstances, we process personal data as a processor on behalf of our customer. Matterbase’s terms of use set out the circumstances where Matterbase processes personal data as a processor. In these cases, it is the Matterbase customer that is responsible for the processing of your personal data and Matterbase’s processing will be governed by the terms it has entered with the customer. If you have questions or concerns about how your personal data is handled by one of our customers, you should contact the relevant customer that is using our Service and refer to their separate privacy policies.

‍b. Legal bases for processing

‍If you are located in the EEA, Switzerland or UK, we need a lawful basis to collect, use and disclose your personal data as a controller. Our lawful basis will depend on the information concerned and the context in which it is processed. Generally, Matterbase will collect and use your information as follows: Contractual necessity: We need it to provide the Service to you and fulfil our obligations to you under our Terms of Use. For example, this includes creating and maintaining your account, resolving issues you may experience with the Service, obtaining payment for our Services and providing you with access to your designs. Legitimate interests: It is necessary for our legitimate interests for example, providing a useful and customized Service, sending you relevant marketing messages, displaying advertising and tracking its effectiveness, using information we collect about you (like your spending, platform usage, occupation and employer) so that we can make more informed predictions, decisions and offers for our users, helping users connect with team members and their employer's subscription on Matterbase and enhancing our Service via research and development, data analytics, data labelling, machine learning and predictive analytics relating to your usage data. We do not rely on this lawful basis where our legitimate interests are overridden by your rights and interests.

Consent: You consent to us, and our third party partners, using your information in a certain way – for example, to hear about new features or offers, and for machine learning and predictive analysis relating to your User Content. Legal obligations: It is necessary for compliance with our legal obligations – for example, to disclose your information in response to law enforcement requests and to retain your information for our record keeping purposes.If you consented to our use of your information, you can withdraw that consent at any time. Depending on the situation you can either withdraw your consent.

‍c. Cross-border transfers of information

‍By signing up, you understand and agree that Matterbase (an entity in Hong Kong) will receive and process your personal data. We may transfer your personal data to other countries where our affiliates and service providers are located. Please note that some of these countries may have data protection laws that are different from your country (and, in some cases, may not be as protective). For Matterbase users in the EEA, Switzerland or UK, where we transfer your information to a third-party service provider that is not located in Europe, and is not in a country that benefits from an adequacy decision by the European Commission, UK or Swiss authorities, we will require those third party providers to enter into an agreement that provides appropriate safeguards for your information, including by using the EU Model Clauses and the UK International Data Transfer Addendum.

10. Changes to this Policy

‍We may update this policy from time to time to reflect our current practice and ensure compliance with applicable laws. If we make any material changes to the way we collect, use, store and/or share your personal information, we will notify you on our website or by sending an email to the email address associated with your Matterbase account. We recommend that you check this page from time to time to inform yourself of any changes.

11. Languages

This Privacy Policy is written in English but is made available in multiple languages through translations. Matterbase strives to make the translations as accurate as possible to the original English version. However, in case of any discrepancies or inconsistencies, the English language version of this Privacy Policy shall take precedence. You acknowledge that English shall be the language of reference for interpreting and constructing the terms of this Privacy Policy.

‍12 Contact us

‍If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or the Service, or wish to make a complaint please contact us.