EKKO
Privacy Policy
Effective Date: June 11, 2025
Last Updated: June 11, 2025
Welcome to Ekko ("Ekko," "we," "our," or "us"). Ekko is a mobile community platform dedicated to handcraft creators and enthusiasts worldwide. We believe your privacy is a fundamental right, and we are committed to protecting the personal information you share with us when you use our application and related services (collectively, the "Services").
This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect, how we use it, with whom we share it, and what rights and choices you have in connection with your data. By downloading, installing, or using Ekko, you acknowledge that you have read, understood, and agree to the practices described in this Privacy Policy. If you do not agree, please discontinue use of the Services immediately.
This Policy applies to all users of Ekko globally. Where applicable, it reflects our compliance with major privacy frameworks including the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) applicable in the European Economic Area, the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA), and other applicable regional data protection laws.
This Privacy Policy governs the collection, processing, and use of personal data by Ekko and its affiliates in connection with the Services. It applies to:
• All registered users who create an Ekko account.
• Visitors who browse the application without registration.
• Verified Creators who publish handcraft content on the platform.
• Any third parties who interact with Ekko content through embedded features.
This Policy does not govern third-party websites, services, or applications that may be linked to or from Ekko. We encourage you to review the privacy policies of any third-party services you access through Ekko.
Ekko is intended exclusively for users who are 18 years of age or older. By using the Services, you represent and warrant that you meet this age requirement. We do not knowingly allow individuals under 18 to register for or use Ekko.
We may implement technical and procedural measures to verify or reasonably confirm user age at the time of account creation or identity verification. If we discover that a user is under the age of 18, we will promptly suspend the account and delete all associated personal data to the extent technically feasible.
If a parent or guardian believes their child under 18 has created an account or provided data to Ekko, they may contact us at service@ekko.love to request account review and deletion. We will respond to such requests within 30 days.
We collect information to deliver, improve, and personalize the Ekko experience. The categories of information we collect include:
When you create an Ekko account, we collect:
• Username and display name.
• Email address.
• Date of birth (for age verification purposes).
• Profile photo or avatar (if provided).
• Password (stored in encrypted, hashed form).
• Account preferences and settings.
To obtain Verified Creator status, users must complete an identity verification process. This may involve:
• Government-issued identification documents (e.g., passport, national ID, driver's license).
• A selfie or live facial recognition check (processed by a trusted third-party verification provider).
• Supplementary documentation as required by our review team.
Verification data is processed solely for the purpose of confirming real-person identity and is not used for any other commercial purpose.
Any content you submit to Ekko, including:
• Photos and images of handcraft works.
• Text captions, descriptions, and creative notes.
• Comments and replies on other users' posts.
• Direct messages and chat content.
• Voice messages (if sent via the chat feature).
This content is associated with your account and may be visible to other users depending on your privacy settings.
When you purchase tokens or conduct tipping transactions, we or our payment processor collect:
• Transaction amount and timestamp.
• Token balance and transaction history.
• Payment method type (e.g., credit/debit card, in-app purchase) and partial payment identifiers.
We do not store full payment card numbers. Payment processing is handled by Apple In-App Purchase (iOS), Google Play Billing (Android), or other authorized payment processors. Please refer to their respective privacy policies for information on how they handle payment data.
We automatically collect certain device and connection information when you use Ekko, including:
• Device type, model, and operating system version.
• Unique device identifiers (e.g., IDFA, GAID, device UUID).
• App version and session information.
• IP address and approximate geographic region derived from IP.
• Network type (Wi-Fi or cellular) and carrier information.
• Crash logs and error reports.
We collect information about how you interact with the app, including:
• Features accessed and actions taken within the app.
• Posts viewed, liked, commented on, or shared.
• Search queries and filters applied.
• Session duration and frequency of use.
• Referral sources and in-app navigation paths.
We do not require precise GPS location. However, we may collect approximate location data derived from your IP address or region settings for the purpose of content localization, regulatory compliance, and fraud prevention. If future features require more precise location, we will request explicit consent at that time.
If you contact Ekko support or send us feedback, we retain the content of your communications, your email address, and any attachments, to respond to your inquiry and improve our services.
If you choose to register or log in using a third-party service (such as Apple Sign In or Google), we receive basic profile information permitted by that service and your account settings, such as your name and email address. We do not receive or store your third-party account passwords.
We use the information we collect for the following purposes:
• To create and manage your Ekko account.
• To authenticate your identity and maintain account security.
• To process and display your posts and content.
• To facilitate chat and messaging between users.
• To process token purchases and tipping transactions.
• To analyze usage patterns and identify areas for product enhancement.
• To debug errors, improve app performance, and resolve technical issues.
• To develop and test new features based on user behavior and feedback.
• To personalize your content feed based on your interests, engagement history, and followed creators.
• To suggest relevant creators, posts, and craft categories.
• To deliver contextually appropriate notifications and alerts.
• To detect and prevent fraudulent activity, spam, and abuse.
• To enforce our Terms of Service and Community Guidelines.
• To review and moderate User-Generated Content.
• To verify Creator identity and manage the Verified Creator program.
• To comply with applicable laws, regulations, and legal processes.
• To respond to lawful requests from government authorities.
• To protect the legal rights and interests of Ekko and our users.
• To send you service-related notices, policy updates, and security alerts.
• To send optional promotional communications where you have opted in.
You may opt out of marketing communications at any time by using the unsubscribe link in any email or by adjusting notification settings within the app.
If you are located in the European Economic Area (EEA), United Kingdom, or Switzerland, we rely on the following legal bases under the GDPR to process your personal data:
Processing is necessary to perform the contract we have with you (our Terms of Service), including providing the core features of the app, managing your account, and processing transactions.
We process data where necessary for our legitimate business interests, such as improving the platform, detecting fraud, and maintaining platform security, provided these interests are not overridden by your fundamental rights and freedoms.
We process data where required to comply with applicable legal obligations, including tax laws, child protection regulations, and law enforcement requests.
Where we rely on your consent as the legal basis (e.g., for optional marketing communications or certain analytics), you may withdraw that consent at any time. Withdrawal does not affect the lawfulness of processing prior to withdrawal.
Ekko is a community platform built around handcraft content created by users. This section explains how we handle the content you post.
You retain ownership of the intellectual property rights in the original content you create and post on Ekko. By posting content, you grant Ekko a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free, sublicensable license to host, store, display, reproduce, modify (for formatting purposes), and distribute your content within the Ekko platform and in connection with promoting the Services.
Content you post to the public feed is visible to all Ekko users and may be indexed or cached by our infrastructure. Direct messages are intended to be private and are accessible only to the participants in that conversation, except where disclosure is required by law or to enforce our policies.
We reserve the right to review, moderate, and if necessary remove content that violates our Community Guidelines or Terms of Service. We use a combination of automated tools and human review to identify and address problematic content, including:
• Content that promotes violence, hatred, or illegal activities.
• Spam, deceptive content, or content intended to mislead users.
• Content that infringes third-party intellectual property rights.
• Any content that endangers child safety (see Section 15).
If you believe content on Ekko infringes your copyright, you may submit a DMCA takedown notice to service@ekko.love with the following information:
• Identification of the copyrighted work claimed to be infringed.
• Identification of the allegedly infringing material and its location in the app.
• Your contact information and a good faith statement.
• Your signature (physical or electronic).
We will review all valid notices and take appropriate action in accordance with applicable law.
When you delete your account, your publicly posted content will be removed from the feed within 30 days. However, content that has been archived by other users, referenced in transactions, or is subject to active legal holds may be retained for the minimum period required by applicable law or legitimate business necessity.
Ekko uses a virtual token system that allows users to tip creators they appreciate. Tokens are purchased through Apple In-App Purchase or Google Play Billing and have no real-world monetary value outside the Ekko platform. All token purchases are final and non-refundable, except as required by applicable law or app store policies.
For creators who receive tips, we maintain records of token receipts and any applicable payout arrangements. Creator payout information may be shared with payment processors and tax authorities where required by law.
We analyze transaction patterns to detect and prevent fraudulent activity, including token manipulation, money laundering, or coordinated artificial tipping schemes. Suspicious accounts may be suspended pending investigation.
We do not sell your personal information to third parties. We may share your data only in the limited circumstances described below.
We engage trusted third-party vendors and service providers who process data on our behalf to:
• Host our infrastructure and store data (cloud service providers).
• Process payments and in-app purchases.
• Perform identity verification for the Creator program.
• Deliver push notifications and emails.
• Provide analytics and app performance monitoring.
• Conduct content moderation and safety screening.
All service providers are contractually required to use your data only for the purposes for which it was shared and to maintain appropriate security standards.
We may disclose information when we believe in good faith that disclosure is necessary to:
• Comply with a valid legal obligation, court order, or government request.
• Enforce our Terms of Service or Community Guidelines.
• Protect the rights, property, or safety of Ekko, our users, or the public.
• Detect, prevent, or address fraud, security threats, or technical issues.
If Ekko undergoes a merger, acquisition, asset sale, financing, or insolvency proceeding, your data may be transferred as part of that transaction. We will notify you via in-app notice or email prior to any such transfer and describe your choices in connection with it.
We may share aggregated, anonymized, or de-identified information (which cannot reasonably be used to identify you) with partners, advertisers, and the public for research, analytics, and business development purposes.
When you share content publicly on Ekko, send messages to other users, or tag other accounts, you are directing us to share that information with the relevant recipients. This sharing is at your own discretion and is governed by your privacy settings.
We retain personal data for as long as your account is active or as needed to provide our Services, comply with legal obligations, resolve disputes, and enforce our agreements. Specific retention periods include:
• Account data: retained for the duration of the account plus 90 days post-deletion.
• Transaction records: retained for up to 7 years for tax and accounting compliance.
• Content moderation logs: retained for up to 3 years to address repeat violations.
• Support communications: retained for up to 2 years.
• Device and usage logs: retained for up to 12 months.
You may delete your account at any time through the app settings. Upon deletion, we will initiate removal of your personal data within 30 days, subject to retention obligations described above. Some data may remain in backup systems for up to 90 days before being permanently purged.
We take the security of your personal information seriously and implement a range of technical, administrative, and organizational safeguards.
• All data transmitted between your device and our servers is encrypted using TLS (Transport Layer Security).
• Passwords are stored using industry-standard one-way hashing (bcrypt or equivalent).
• Access to production systems is restricted to authorized personnel via role-based access controls.
• We perform regular security audits, vulnerability assessments, and penetration testing.
In the event of a data breach that poses a significant risk to your rights and freedoms, we will notify affected users and relevant authorities as required by applicable law, including within 72 hours under the GDPR.
You are responsible for maintaining the security of your account credentials. We recommend using a strong, unique password and enabling any available multi-factor authentication options. Do not share your login credentials with others.
Ekko operates globally and your data may be transferred to, stored in, and processed in countries other than your country of residence. These countries may have different data protection laws than those in your jurisdiction.
When we transfer personal data from the EEA to countries not recognized as providing an adequate level of protection, we rely on appropriate safeguards such as:
• Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs) approved by the European Commission.
• Binding Corporate Rules (BCRs) where applicable.
• Adequacy decisions issued by the European Commission.
Our primary data centers are located in regions selected for security, reliability, and legal compliance. You may contact us at service@ekko.love to request information about the specific transfer mechanisms applicable to your data.
Depending on your location, you may have the following rights with respect to your personal data. We honor these rights regardless of your jurisdiction to the extent technically and operationally feasible.
You may request a copy of the personal data we hold about you. We will provide a structured, machine-readable summary of your data within 30 days of a verified request.
If any of your personal data is inaccurate or incomplete, you may update it directly in your account settings or request a correction by contacting us.
You may request deletion of your personal data. We will process such requests to the extent permitted by law. Deletion may not be possible where data must be retained for legal compliance, dispute resolution, or legitimate security purposes.
You may request that we limit the processing of your data in certain circumstances, such as while a data accuracy dispute is being resolved or while you object to our use of your data.
Where processing is based on your consent or the performance of a contract, and is carried out by automated means, you may request that we provide your personal data in a portable, structured, machine-readable format.
You may object at any time to processing of your personal data based on our legitimate interests. You also have the right to object to processing for direct marketing purposes at any time.
Where we rely on your consent, you may withdraw it at any time without affecting the lawfulness of processing prior to withdrawal.
To exercise any of the rights above, please contact us at service@ekko.love with the subject line "Privacy Rights Request." We may need to verify your identity before processing the request. We will respond within 30 days, or within the legally required timeframe in your jurisdiction.
If you are in the EEA and believe we have not handled your personal data in accordance with applicable law, you have the right to lodge a complaint with your local supervisory authority (e.g., the ICO in the UK, or the relevant EU data protection authority).
If you are a California resident, you have specific rights under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) as amended by the California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA).
You may request disclosure of the categories and specific pieces of personal information we have collected, the sources of that information, the purposes for which it is used, and the categories of third parties with whom it is shared.
You may request deletion of personal information we have collected about you, subject to certain exceptions under the CCPA.
You may request correction of inaccurate personal information that we maintain about you.
We do not sell your personal information. We do not share personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising purposes.
We will not discriminate against you for exercising your CCPA/CPRA rights. You will not receive a different level of service or be charged different prices for exercising these rights.
You may designate an authorized agent to submit a request on your behalf. We will require written proof of the agent's authority and may verify your identity directly.
Ekko may use software development kits (SDKs) and in-app analytics tools that collect usage data. These are functional and analytics tools, not browser cookies. They help us understand user behavior and improve app performance.
We may use mobile advertising identifiers (such as Apple IDFA or Google Advertising ID) for internal analytics. We do not use these identifiers for targeted third-party advertising without your explicit consent. You can reset or limit ad tracking through your device settings.
You may opt out of analytics tracking by adjusting your device's privacy settings or contacting us at service@ekko.love. Note that opting out may limit certain personalized features of the app.
Ekko is strictly intended for users who are 18 years of age or older. We do not knowingly collect personal information from individuals under 18. If we discover that we have inadvertently collected data from a minor, we will delete that data promptly and terminate the associated account.
We do not direct the Services toward individuals under 18, and we do not knowingly allow minors to register or use the platform. Content on Ekko may include mature creative themes that are not appropriate for minors.
Ekko has a zero-tolerance policy toward Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation (CSAE). We strictly prohibit any content, behavior, or activity on the platform that:
• Depicts, promotes, or facilitates the sexual abuse or exploitation of minors.
• Contains Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) in any format, including images, videos, text, or links.
• Attempts to groom, solicit, or exploit minors in any manner.
• Normalizes or glorifies sexual violence, coercion, or abuse directed at minors.
Any content that violates this policy will be immediately removed, the responsible account will be permanently banned, and we will report the incident to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) and relevant law enforcement authorities, including via CyberTipline and other applicable reporting mechanisms. Ekko cooperates fully with law enforcement investigations involving CSAE.
We provide in-app reporting tools that allow any user to flag content they believe may involve the sexual exploitation of minors. All such reports are reviewed on a priority basis. You may also report CSAE content directly to us at service@ekko.love with the subject line "CSAE Report."
Ekko integrates third-party software libraries and SDKs for functions such as analytics, crash reporting, push notifications, and payment processing. These providers may collect certain technical data as described in their own privacy policies. We require all third-party providers to maintain adequate privacy and security standards.
The app may contain links to external websites or profiles. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of those third parties. We encourage you to review the privacy policies of any external sites you visit.
Ekko operates on iOS and Android platforms. Apple and Google may independently collect device data in connection with their platform services, app stores, and payment systems. Please refer to Apple's Privacy Policy and Google's Privacy Policy for information about their data practices.
We may send push notifications to your device to inform you of new messages, comments, likes, creator activity, or important service updates. You may disable push notifications at any time through your device settings or within the Ekko app settings.
We may send you transactional emails (e.g., account confirmation, password reset, policy updates) and optional promotional emails if you have opted in. To opt out of promotional emails, use the unsubscribe link provided in any such email or contact us at service@ekko.love.
We may display in-app messages or banners to communicate important updates, new features, or policy changes. These are part of the core Service and cannot be disabled independently.
You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your Ekko account credentials. You agree to notify us immediately at service@ekko.love if you suspect any unauthorized access to your account. We are not responsible for any loss or damage arising from your failure to protect your account information.
We monitor for suspicious login activity and may require additional verification steps or temporarily suspend accounts that show signs of compromise. We may notify you of unusual access via email or in-app alert.
Some browsers and devices transmit "Do Not Track" (DNT) signals. Currently, there is no universally accepted standard for how services should respond to DNT signals. Ekko does not alter its data collection or use practices in response to DNT signals at this time. We will revisit this position as industry standards develop.
We ask that you do not submit sensitive categories of personal data through Ekko unless specifically required and requested by us. This includes health or medical information, financial account details (other than those necessary for payments), racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious beliefs, biometric data (other than for Creator verification), and sexual orientation.
Where sensitive data is legitimately collected (e.g., government ID for Creator verification), it is processed in accordance with applicable law and subject to additional safeguards.
We use automated systems to personalize your content feed, detect policy violations, and identify fraudulent activity. These systems may make decisions that affect your use of the platform, such as content ranking or account suspension.
If you are subject to a fully automated decision that significantly affects you (e.g., account suspension), you have the right to request human review of that decision by contacting us at service@ekko.love. We will review your case and respond within 30 days.
Verified Creators have public profiles visible to all Ekko users. Your profile information, including display name, profile photo, posted content, and follower/following counts, is publicly accessible on the platform.
Token earnings and tip history associated with your Creator account are stored securely and are not disclosed to other users. This information may be used for internal analytics, tax reporting where required, and payout processing.
Records of your identity verification are retained for the duration of your Creator account and for a period thereafter as required by applicable law. These records are used to prevent fraud and ensure platform integrity.
We integrate privacy considerations into our product development process from the outset. Our principles include:
• Data minimization: we collect only what is necessary for the stated purposes.
• Purpose limitation: data collected for one purpose is not repurposed without notification or consent.
• Storage limitation: we retain data only for as long as necessary.
• Integrity and confidentiality: we apply appropriate technical and organizational measures to protect data.
• Accountability: we maintain records of processing activities and appoint responsible teams for privacy compliance.
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our Services, legal requirements, or privacy practices. When we make material changes, we will:
• Update the "Last Updated" date at the top of this Policy.
• Provide an in-app notification and/or email notice to registered users.
• Where required by law, request renewed consent for material changes affecting how we process your data.
Your continued use of Ekko after the effective date of a revised Policy constitutes your acceptance of the updated terms. If you do not agree to the updated Policy, you should discontinue use of the Services and may request account deletion as described in Section 9.
If you have a privacy-related complaint or concern, please contact us first at service@ekko.love. We are committed to resolving complaints promptly and fairly. If we are unable to resolve your concern to your satisfaction, you may escalate the matter to your applicable data protection authority or pursue other legal remedies as permitted by law.
If you have any questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or our data practices, please contact us:
Ekko Support Team
Email: service@ekko.love
Subject Line: Privacy Inquiry
We will respond to all privacy inquiries within 30 days, or within the timeframe required by applicable law in your jurisdiction.
This Privacy Policy was prepared for Ekko and reflects the platform's practices as of the effective date above.