EU Privacy & Cookie Policy
PRIVACY AND COOKIE POLICY
Last Revision: 17th July, 2023
AreTheyHappy commits to strong, secure and transparent privacy practices.
We do our best to protect your privacy and avoid any misuse or abuse of your personal data, such as:
- We never sell personal data to anyone.
- We provide our Service in strict compliance with Applicable Data Protection Laws.
- You are in control of your personal data at all times.
Our Privacy Policy explains:
- What data we collect and why we collect it.
- How we use this data, share and protect it.
Our Privacy Policy applies to:
- Our Customers (including any internal users, “Users”), and
- End-Users (“End-Users”), who are users who interact with our Customers on Supported Platforms
Our Privacy Policy should always be read in conjunction with the privacy policies of all Supported Platforms. If you have questions or complaints regarding our Privacy Policy or practices, please contact us at support@guestxm.com.
- Who is AreTheyHappy?
AreTheyHappy NV doing business as GuestXM (“GuestXM”, “we”, “us”, “our”) is a European company headquartered in Gent, Belgium. It was founded in November 2016 as a BVBA and then in November 2017 as an NV. GuestXM offers a software application (the “Service”) that helps restaurants, bars, cafes and agencies (collectively “Customers”) in managing their online reputation.
GuestXM enables our Customers to centralize all incoming messages from different Social Profiles, Review Channels and Email Providers in one online tool. From within the same tool, Customers can respond to incoming messages sent to Supported Platforms. They can also schedule and publish content on their Social Profiles and analyze the results of their efforts. It also helps them monitor public conversations on Supported Platforms as long as they contain certain keywords of their choice.
GuestXM complies with Belgian data privacy law, which embodies all the relevant Applicable Data Protection Laws.
- What Data Do We Collect And/Or Process?
- Customer Personal data
When you register for a GuestXM account, we collect some data about you as a User. We do this in order to provide our Service, improve general usability, and to give you the best customer support possible. We collect the following data:
- Your full name.
- Your email address.
- Your business name.
- Your business address.
- Your business phone number (optional).
- Social Profile URL.
- The content you have published on the Social Profiles you have connected to the Service.
- Information we may receive relating to communications you send us, such as queries or comments concerning our Service.
GuestXM also collects certain data from your computer or mobile device, including the activities you perform on the Site, the Supported Platforms, the type of hardware and software you are using (for example, your operating system or browser), and data obtained from cookies (see below Cookies section). For example, each time you visit the Site or use GuestXM, if allowed, we collect your IP address, browser and device type, access times, the web page from which you came, the regions from which you navigate the web page, and the web page(s) you visited.
- Customer Content
When our Customers connect a Supported Platform to the GuestXM, they can decide to collect, process, share and access data from the selected Supported Platform (subject to the terms of service and privacy policies of the Supported Platforms). Once permissions are set, our Users can read, respond to and analyze data from Supported Platforms, and also create, post, transmit, view, display or share data or information through the Service:
- Customer generated content (such as messages (including direct or private messages), posts, comments, profile picture(s), images, videos, feeds or communications exchanged on the Supported Platforms).
- End-Users Messages and/or name.
- End-Users Social Profile URLs of the on Supported Platforms.
- Supported Platforms User IDs.
- How Do We Use Your Data?
- Customer Personal Data
GuestXM uses Customer personal data for the following general purposes:
- To identify you when you login to your account on the Service.
- Legal basis: Necessary for the performance of a contract with the data subject or to take steps preparatory to such a contract.
- To enable us to operate the Service and provide it to you.
- Legal basis: Necessary for the performance of a contract with the data subject or to take steps preparatory to such a contract.
- To verify your transactions and for purchase confirmation, billing, security, and authentication (including security tokens for communication with Supported Platforms).
- Legal basis: Necessary for the performance of a contract with the data subject or to take steps preparatory to such a contract.
- To contact you about your account and provide customer support, including responding to your comments and questions.
- Legal basis: Necessary for the performance of a contract with the data subject or to take steps preparatory to such a contract.
- To keep you informed about the Service, features, surveys, newsletters, offers, contests and events we think you may find useful or which you have requested from us.
- Legal basis: Necessary for the purposes of legitimate interests.
- To better understand your needs as a User, to diagnose problems, analyze trends, improve the features and general usability of the Site and Services.
- Legal basis: Necessary for the purposes of legitimate interests.
- To better understand User demographics and needs, at large, and to better improve our content, marketing and Service to our Customers and Users.
- Legal basis: Necessary for the purposes of legitimate interests.
- To keep the Service safe and secure.
- Legal basis: Necessary for compliance with a legal obligation.
- Customer Content
GuestXM uses Customer content for the following purposes:
- To identify the author of an End-User Message.
- To aggregate all End-User Messages from the same person and provide a history of all past conversation between the End-User and a Customer.
- How Do We Collect Your Data?
- Customer Personal Data
GuestXM collects Customer personal data through the Supported Platform, Customer email communications and Review Channels to deliver the Service to Customer.
- Customer Content
GuestXM collects Customer content data through the Supported Platform, Customer email communications and Review Channels to deliver the Service to Customer.
- How Long Do We Retain Your Data?
In compliance with applicable law, we retain your personal data for as long as we believe is necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, or unless otherwise allowed or required by law. We collect personal data for a number of purposes (see above) and may be required to retain it for legal (including tax) reasons for a period which is longer than the time we need or use the data for the purpose of providing Service.
- Marketing
GuestXM would like to send you information about our Services that we think you might like.
If you have agreed to receive marketing, you may always opt out at a later date.
You have the right at any time to stop GuestXM from contacting you for marketing purposes.
If you no longer wish to be contacted for marketing purposes, please email support@guestxm.com.
- Cookies
- Cookies And Related Technologies
Like many websites, we collect certain data through the use of “cookies.” Cookies are small text files that are saved by your browser when you access our Site or Service. We may use both session cookies and persistent cookies to recognize you when you have logged in to the Site and to tell us how and when you interact with our Site. We may also use cookies to ensure that our Services do not get overloaded, i.e., we may monitor aggregate usage and web traffic routing on our Site. When you visit the Site, we request your permission to use cookies.
- What Types Of Cookies Do We Use?
There are a number of different types of cookies, however, our Site uses:
Session cookies: We collect certain data from your current visit, i.e., login information. This is done to allow you to move easily within the GuestXM platform. Without these session cookies, we wouldn’t be able to properly provide our Service to you. These session cookies have limited functionalities and expirations, and you will be required to re-enter your GuestXM login information after a certain period of time has elapsed to protect you against others accidentally accessing your account contents and related personal data. Other examples of our use of session cookies include to track the number of visits by a particular visitor to a page or a feature of the Service.
Performance and remarketing Cookies: We use third-party vendors, like Facebook Ads and Google Ads, to help deliver ads for relevant GuestXM Services when you visit certain pages on our Site. We may share a cryptographic hash of a common account identifier (such as an email address) with third-party to help us tailor ads and Services offered to you.
- How To Manage Cookies?
When you visit our platforms for the first time, we display a banner concerning cookies. Here you can find further information about cookies, and you can choose whether to accept performance and remarketing cookies.
Please note that without your consent, some features of the Site and the Service may become unavailable.
You are free to change your mind at any time and adjust your cookie settings at a later date. To find out more about cookies, including how to see what cookies have been set and how to manage and delete them, visit www.allaboutcookies.org.
The Network Advertising Initiative has also developed a tool that may help you understand which third parties have currently enabled cookies for your browser and opt-out of those cookies. Further information can be found at: http://www.networkadvertising.org/managing/opt_out.asp
GuestXM may also use related technologies including web beacons, pixels, and software tokens in order to facilitate your use of the Service. Most notably, the Service uses software tokens (stored securely on GuestXM-controlled servers) in order to facilitate the logging in to and the functioning of both the Supported Platforms.
The biggest take-away is this: we use cookies to better understand your needs as a User, to analyze trends, to recommend more relevant content or services, and to improve the features and general usability of the Site and Services.
- How Is Your Data Kept Secure?
The security of your personal data is important to us.
GuestXM has implemented various measures to ensure that the data is adequately protected against unauthorized access, use, disclosure and destruction. You should bear in mind, however, that submission of information over the internet is never entirely secure. Thus, risk can never be eliminated, however, it can definitely be significantly mitigated and reduced.
Security measures adopted by GuestXM include:
- Access to the information stored within GuestXM’s servers is restricted to a limited number of GuestXM employees.
- We use industry best practices to keep any data collected and/or transmitted to the Supported Platforms secure. The Site and Service are all secured by SSL protocol, which provides encryption to all data transmitted.
- GuestXM’s servers are protected by a) firewalls establishing a barrier between our trusted, secure internal network and the Internet and b) IP restrictions, limiting access to whitelisted IPs.
- Each Customer may only access information pertaining to its specific Social Profiles and to the specific End-Users interacting with such Social Profile. For Twitter and Instagram, each Customer may also access public content posted by End-Users and containing specific keywords.
- GuestXM uses third-party vendors and hosting partners to provide the necessary hardware, software, networking, storage, and related technology to run the Services. These vendors all offer best-in-class security.
- When payments are processed via credit card, GuestXM uses a third-party vendor that is PCI_DSS compliant.
- GuestXM reviews its information collection and processing practices periodically and will review and amend this Privacy Policy accordingly.
- GuestXM uses third party vendors to prevent attacks on the Site or the Service and destruction or theft of its data. Such vendors also monitor potential attacks to allow GuestXM to inform its Customers in the event their Customer content and/or GuestXM data has been compromised.
- Children
Because the nature of our Service does not appeal to children under the age of 13, GuestXM does not knowingly acquire, seek or receive requests to open accounts from children under 13. If we later learn that any User of our Service is under the age of 13, we will take appropriate steps to remove that User’s data from our account database and will restrict that individual from future access to the Service.
- Your Rights
GuestXM makes sure that you are fully aware of all of your data protection rights. Every User is entitled to the following:
The right to access – You have the right to request GuestXM for copies of your personal data.
The right to rectification – You have the right to request that GuestXM corrects any information you believe is inaccurate. You also have the right to request GuestXM to complete information you believe is incomplete.
The right to erasure – You have the right to request that GuestXM erases your personal data, under certain conditions.
The right to restrict processing – You have the right to request that GuestXM restricts the processing of your personal data, under certain conditions.
The right to object to processing – You have the right to object to GuestXM’s processing of your personal data, under certain conditions.
The right to data portability – You have the right to request that GuestXM transfers the data that we have collected to another organization, or directly to you, under certain conditions.
The right to lodge a complaint – You have the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority, in particular in the state of your habitual residence, place of work or of an alleged infringement of the GDPR.
To exercise your rights, please send an email to support@guestxm.com, with your first and last name and the URL of all the Social Profiles you have connected to the Service. Such a request will have to be sent from the email address used to create your account on the Service.
Please note that certain personal data may need to be retained by GuestXM for a period of time following cancellation of your account where this is necessary for our legitimate business purposes or required or authorized by Applicable Data Protection Laws.
When you withdraw consent, you acknowledge and accept that this will (most likely) terminate your access to the use of our Service.
You should be aware that GuestXM acts as a conduit between our Customers and the various Supported Platforms we support. In several instances, the content published via GuestXM will not be in GuestXM’s custody or control, and any content that has been shared by you through any Supported Platform via the Services may continue to be available to third parties and the public at large, as this content is now under the control of the operators of the Supported Platforms.
- Disclosure
GuestXM’s use and transfer to any other app of information received from Google APIs will adhere to Google’s Terms of Service and the Google API Services User Data Policy, including the Limited Use requirements.
GuestXM does not rent or sell your Customer personal data or Customer content, but we may disclose such data to a limited set of trusted third parties in the situations explained below with your consent or at your direction.
We will disclose your personal data where we are bound to do so, at law or via a court order as well as to meet any legal or regulatory requirement or obligations. We ensure that those requirements or obligations are in accordance with Applicable Data Protection Laws.
We reserve the right to disclose your data to any third party if we have reasonable information to believe that the disclosure is necessary for the purpose of an investigation and/or for the enforcement of any breaches of the Terms of Service (if applicable), to detect, prevent or otherwise address fraud, security, technical issues or other irregularities or illegalities, protect the rights and interests as well as the property of GuestXM.
We reserve the right to disclose your data to parent companies, subsidiaries, joint ventures, or other companies under common control with GuestXM.
We reserve the right to disclose your data if we are acquired by or merged with another entity (in which case we will require such entity to assume our obligations under this Privacy Policy or inform you that you are covered by a new privacy policy).
- Data Transfer
If we receive personal data collected in the EU and transferred to the U.S. or to another non-EU country under circumstances that are within scope of GDPR, we may take the following steps:
- Enter into appropriate data transfer and data processing agreements that incorporate the EU Standard Contractual Clauses or another EU-compliant data transfer mechanism, and
- Require any vendors or third parties to which GuestXM transfers that personal data for lawful purposes to i) enter into appropriate data transfer and data processing agreements that incorporate the EU Standard Contractual Clauses or other EU-compliant data transfer mechanism and ii) commit to imposing the same requirements on any further transfer of that personal data.
- Notices And Revision To The Privacy Policy
If you have any concern about your privacy, you are kindly requested to forward an email to GuestXM at support@guestxm.com containing a detailed description of your concerns. GuestXM will do its best to resolve such issues within a reasonable time.
We may revise this Privacy Policy from time to time. The most current version of the policy, found at guestxm.com/eu-privacy-policy will govern our use of your data collected and processed from the Service.
- Privacy Policies Of Other Websites
Our Privacy Policy applies only to our Site, so if you click on a link to another website, you should read their privacy policy.
- Governing Law And Dispute Resolution
This Privacy Policy forms an integral part of our Terms of Service. The governing law and dispute resolution mechanism found in our Terms of Service shall also apply to our Privacy Policy.
- Definitions
“Applicable Data Protection Laws” means from time-to-time applicable legislation and regulations, including regulations issued by relevant supervisory authorities, protecting the fundamental rights and freedoms of individuals and, in particular, their right to privacy, including data protection laws and regulations implementing the GDPR as transposed into domestic legislation of each Member State and United-Kingdom.
“Customer” has the meaning given to them in this Privacy Notice.
“Email Providers” Gmail and Outlook, as amended from time to time.
“End-User(s) or User” means a user of a “Supported Platform” who interacts with an GuestXM Customer through that Supported Platform.
“End-User(s) Message” means a private or public message sent by an End-User to any of our Customers via a Social Profile. It also means any publicly available content posted by an End-User on a Supported Platform that can be searched and retrieved by a Customer via a public search on the concerned Supported Platform or using the Service through available Supported Platforms’ APIs.
“GDPR” means Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Directive 95/46/EC.
“Privacy Notice” means this privacy notice.
“Review Channels” means Google, TripAdvisor, Facebook, Instagram, Yelp and Deliveroo, as amended from time to time.
“Service(s)” means service provided to you by GuestXM based on the plan you have purchased.
“Site” means the website www.guestxm.com, in addition to any sub-pages that are integrated within this website.
“Social Profile” means a personal, but for most of our Customers, a business profile created by them on a Supported Platform. That includes, but is not limited to: Facebook company pages and Facebook groups, Twitter profiles, Instagram business profiles, TripAdvisor profiles, Foursquare profiles, Google My Business company pages and other social channels as described on the Site.
“Supported Platform(s)” means the social networking site(s) currently supported by the Service, including Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Google My Business, Gmail, Outlook, TripAdvisor and other social channels as described on the Site.
“Terms of Service” means the terms of service applicable to GuestXM’s provision of the Service to Customer on various Supported Platforms.
All capitalized terms that are not otherwise defined herein shall have the meaning given to them in our Terms of Service which can be found at https://www.guestxm.com/eu-terms-of-service.
GuestXM’s Privacy Policy forms part of its wider Terms of Service. Both the Terms of Service and the Privacy Policy apply to your use of the Service.
Contact information:
If you have any questions about our Privacy Policy, the data we hold on you, or you would like to exercise one of your data protection rights, please do not hesitate to contact us.
AreTheyHappy NV (doing business as GuestXM)
Kleindokkaai 17
9000 Gent
Belgium
Email: support@guestxm.com