Operated by: Spared Inc., a Manitoba corporation operating as "spared" ("spared," "we," "us," or "our"), located in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
Privacy Officer: support@sparedapp.com
This Privacy Policy explains what personal information spared collects through the spared app and website (the "Service"), why we collect it, how we use and share it, how long we keep it, and the choices and rights you have. It forms part of our Terms of Use and Participant Waiver (the "Terms").
We handle personal information in accordance with the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) and other applicable Canadian privacy laws.
The short version
- We collect what we need to match spares with teams and keep the community safe.
- Other users can see your profile and reliability rating. They cannot see your email, mobile number, or full date of birth.
- We do not sell your personal information, and we do not share it with advertisers.
- You can access, correct, or delete your information at any time.
1. Accountability and our Privacy Officer
Spared Inc. is responsible for personal information under its control. We have appointed a Privacy Officer who is accountable for our compliance with this Privacy Policy and with applicable privacy law. You can reach the Privacy Officer at support@sparedapp.com.
2. Information we collect
Information you give us
- Account information: your first name, last name, email address, mobile number, date of birth, and password. Your password is stored in encrypted (hashed) form, and we cannot see it.
- Profile information: your profile photo, the city you play in, the sports you play, your skill level, and any other details you choose to add to your profile.
- Gender: many recreational leagues, such as co-ed leagues, have roster rules based on gender. We use your gender only to match you with games where those rules apply, and we do not share it outside the Service.
- Messages and content: messages you send to other users through the Service, ratings you leave, and any other content you post.
- Reports and support: information you send us when you report a user, ask us to review a rating, request support, or otherwise contact us.
Information created when you use the Service
- Game activity: games you request, are invited to, accept, decline, attend, or cancel, and the timing of those actions.
- Reliability rating: ratings other users leave about you, and the reliability score we calculate from your game activity and ratings (see Section 6).
- Device and usage information: your device type, operating system, app version, IP address, time zone, crash and error logs, and how you use features of the Service.
- Notifications: a device token that lets us send you push notifications, if you allow them.
Information from others
- Other users may provide information about you, for example by rating you, reporting you, or adding you to a game.
- Apple and Google may provide us with limited information about app downloads and purchases.
What we do not collect
We do not ask for your Social Insurance Number, government ID, or health records. The Service does not currently process payments. If we add paid features in the future, we will update this Privacy Policy before we collect any payment information, to explain what we collect, how payments are handled, and who handles them.
3. How we use your information
We use personal information only for the purposes described below, or for purposes a reasonable person would consider appropriate in the circumstances:
- To provide the Service: create and manage your account, display your profile, and send game requests, confirmations, reminders, and updates.
- To match you with games: suggest spares to captains and games to spares based on sport, skill, availability, city, and, where relevant, gender-based league roster rules.
- To calculate reliability ratings: track attendance and cancellations and combine them with user ratings (see Section 6).
- To keep the community safe: review reports, investigate misuse, enforce our Terms, prevent removed users from returning, and protect users and the public.
- To communicate with you: respond to your questions, send service messages, and, with your consent, send news and updates about spared.
- To improve the Service: understand how features are used, fix bugs, and develop new features, using de-identified or aggregated information where we can.
- To meet legal obligations: comply with applicable law, respond to lawful requests, and establish or defend legal claims.
If we want to use your personal information for a new purpose not described here, we will tell you and, where required, ask for your consent first.
4. Consent
By creating an account and using the Service, you consent to the collection, use, and sharing of your personal information as described in this Privacy Policy. We ask for your express consent where the information is more sensitive or the use would not be expected, such as gender, text messages, push notifications, marketing emails, and any use of your name or photo in marketing outside the app.
You can withdraw your consent at any time, subject to legal or contractual limits, by changing your settings or contacting support@sparedapp.com. If you withdraw consent to information we need to run the Service, such as your account information or game activity, we may not be able to continue providing the Service to you.
5. What other users can see
Spared works by connecting people, so some information is visible to other users:
- Visible to other users: your first name and last initial, profile photo, city, profile details such as sports and skill level, reliability rating, and the games you have joined.
- Visible to people you play with: once you are matched with a game, the captain and players in that game may see the details needed to coordinate it, and messages you send them.
- Never shown to other users: your email address, mobile number, full date of birth, and any reports you make.
Please think carefully before sharing personal details in messages or on your profile. Other users may save or share what you send them, and we cannot control what they do with it.
6. Reliability ratings and automated decisions
Your reliability rating is calculated automatically from your game activity, such as attendance and late cancellations, and from ratings left by other users. Your rating may affect how you appear in matches, and repeated no-shows may limit your ability to join games, as described in our Terms.
You can ask us to explain how your rating was calculated, what information was used, and the main factors that affected it. You can also ask us to correct inaccurate information and to have a person review your rating. Contact support@sparedapp.com to make a request.
7. How we share your information
We do not sell your personal information, and we do not share it with advertisers or data brokers. We share personal information only in these situations:
- Service providers: companies that help us run the Service, such as Supabase, which provides our database, file storage, and account login, and Twilio, which delivers our text messages, along with email and push notification services, analytics and crash reporting tools, and customer support tools. They may use your information only to provide services to us, and we require them by contract to protect it.
- Leagues and captains: when you join a game, the captain and, where needed, the league running that game may receive the information needed to coordinate it, such as your name and that you will be playing.
- Safety and legal reasons: with law enforcement, government authorities, or others where we believe it is required or permitted by law, for example to respond to a lawful request, investigate a breach of our Terms, or protect someone's safety.
- Business changes: with a buyer, investor, or successor if spared is involved in a merger, sale, financing, or reorganization. Anyone who receives your information in this way must protect it in a manner consistent with this Privacy Policy.
- With your consent: in any other situation where you have asked us to, or agreed to it.
8. Where your information is stored
Your account and profile information is stored in Canada, in our Supabase database.
Some of our other service providers, such as text messaging, email, notification, and analytics tools, may process information outside Canada, including in the United States. When your information is outside Canada, it is subject to the laws of that country and may be accessible to its courts, law enforcement, and national security authorities. We use contracts and other measures to make sure your information receives a comparable level of protection to what it would receive in Canada.
If you would like more information about how our service providers outside Canada handle personal information, contact support@sparedapp.com.
9. How long we keep your information
We keep personal information only as long as we need it for the purposes described in this Privacy Policy, or as required by law. In general:
- Active accounts: we keep your information while your account is open.
- Deleted accounts: when you delete your account, we remove your profile from the Service right away and delete or de-identify your personal information within 30 days. Copies in backups are deleted within a further 90 days.
- Messages: messages you sent to other users may remain visible to them after you delete your account.
- Safety records: if an account was suspended or removed, or was the subject of a report, we may keep limited information about it (such as name, email, mobile number, and the reason for removal) for up to 3 years to protect users and stop removed users from rejoining.
- Legal requirements: we may keep information longer where needed to meet legal, tax, or accounting obligations, or to resolve a dispute or legal claim.
When information is no longer needed, we securely delete it or de-identify it so it can no longer be linked to you.
10. How we protect your information
We use reasonable physical, organizational, and technical safeguards appropriate to the sensitivity of the information, including encryption of data in transit, access controls that limit access to people who need it, and secure hosting with reputable providers.
No system is completely secure. If a breach of security safeguards involving your personal information creates a real risk of significant harm to you, we will notify you and the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada as soon as feasible, as required by law, and keep a record of the breach.
You can help protect your account by using a strong, unique password and keeping your login details private.
11. Your rights and choices
You have the right to:
- Access: ask what personal information we hold about you, how it has been used, and who it has been shared with, and get a copy of it.
- Correction: ask us to correct information that is inaccurate or incomplete. You can update most profile information directly in the app.
- Deletion: delete your account at any time from within the app, or by emailing support@sparedapp.com.
- Withdraw consent: change your choices about notifications, profile details, and marketing at any time.
- Rating review: ask for an explanation and human review of your reliability rating (see Section 6).
We will respond to requests within 30 days, or tell you if we need more time and why, as allowed by law. Requests are free. We may need to confirm your identity before acting on a request, and we may decline a request where the law allows, for example if it would reveal information about another person. If we decline, we will explain why.
Depending on where you live, you may have additional rights under provincial privacy law.
If you are not satisfied with how we handled a privacy concern, please contact our Privacy Officer first. You also have the right to file a complaint with the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada at priv.gc.ca.
12. Emails, text messages, and notifications
We send service messages needed to run the Service, such as game confirmations, reminders, account notices, and changes to our Terms or this Privacy Policy. These are not marketing, and you cannot opt out of service emails while your account is open. You can opt out of text messages at any time, as described below.
We will send you marketing emails, such as news and promotions, only if you agree to receive them. Every marketing email includes a way to unsubscribe. You can turn push notifications on or off in your device settings.
Text messages (SMS): if you give us your mobile number and agree to receive texts, we use it to send one-time verification codes and alerts about your account and games, such as team invites, spare request updates, and game reminders. We do not send marketing text messages. We use Twilio to deliver texts, and your mobile number is shared with them only to send messages on our behalf.
We do not sell, rent, or share your mobile number or SMS consent with any third party or affiliate for their marketing or promotional purposes. Text messaging originator opt-in data and consent will not be shared with any third parties.
You can stop text messages at any time by replying STOP. Reply HELP for help, or contact support@sparedapp.com. Message and data rates may apply, and message frequency varies. If you opt out of texts, some features, such as login verification by text, may not be available.
13. Cookies and analytics
Our website may use cookies and similar technologies to keep the site working, remember your preferences, and understand how visitors use it. The app may use analytics and crash reporting tools that collect device and usage information as described in Section 2. We do not use these tools for targeted advertising. You can control cookies through your browser settings.
14. Age requirement
The Service is only for people 18 years of age or older. We do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 18. If we learn that we have collected information from someone under 18, we will delete the account and the information. If you believe a minor is using the Service, please tell us at support@sparedapp.com.
15. Third-party services
The Service may link to or work with third-party services, such as app stores or league websites. Those services have their own privacy policies, and we are not responsible for how they handle your information.
16. Changes to this Privacy Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will post the new version in the app and on our website with a new effective date. If we make a material change, such as using your information for a new purpose or sharing it in a new way, we will notify you in the app or by email before the change takes effect and ask for your consent where required.
17. Contact us
For questions, requests, or complaints about this Privacy Policy or your personal information, contact our Privacy Officer:
Privacy Officer, Spared Inc.
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada