Privacy Policy for AreaCab

Deepseedtech ("we," "us," or "our") operates the AreaCab mobile application (the "Service"). This page informs you of our policies regarding the collection, use, and disclosure of personal data when you use our Service and the choices you have associated with that data.

We use your data to provide and improve the Service. By using the Service, you agree to the collection and use of information in accordance with this policy.

1. Information Collection and Use

We collect several different types of information for various purposes to provide and improve our ride-sharing and digital wallet services to you.

Types of Data Collected

A. Personal Data

While using our Service, we may ask you to provide us with certain personally identifiable information that can be used to contact or identify you ("Personal Data"). Personally identifiable information includes, but is not limited to:

• Email address
• First name and last name
• Phone number
• Government-issued identification (for driver background verification and regulatory KYC compliance)

B. Location Data

To provide accurate ride-matching, mapping, and navigation features, we require access to your location data:

• Passengers: We collect precise location data when the app is running in the foreground to set accurate pickup points and destination coordinates.
• Drivers: We collect precise location data in the background (even when the app is closed or not actively in use) to calculate distance metrics, match nearby passenger trip requests, and track active rides for safety. You can enable or disable location permissions at any time via your mobile device operating system settings.

C. Financial and Payment Data

AreaCab provides an integrated digital wallet and peer-to-peer payment infrastructure.

• We collect transaction histories, transfer records, and ledger balances necessary to maintain your AreaCab Wallet.
• Credit card details, bank account info, and Know-Your-Customer (KYC) documentation are processed directly and securely by our payment gateway partner, Stripe (via Stripe Connect). We do not store raw credit card numbers or sensitive banking credentials on our database servers.

2. Use of Data

AreaCab uses the collected data for various operational purposes:

• To provide, maintain, and monitor our core ride-sharing Service.
• To dynamically match passengers with nearby drivers based on proximity.
• To facilitate peer-to-peer transfers, balance top-ups, and fare payments through the AreaCab Wallet.
• To verify driver identities and meet Canadian regulatory and financial framework compliance requirements.
• To provide customer support and detect, prevent, and mitigate technical, safety, or fraudulent issues.

3. Data Sharing and Disclosure

We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal data. We share your information only under the following explicit circumstances:

• Between Passengers and Drivers: We share names, profile images, and real-time location coordinates to successfully execute a ride booking.
• With Authorized Service Providers: We share data with reliable third-party infrastructure components that help us run our service:
  • Clerk: For secure user authentication and session management.
  • Stripe / Stripe Connect: For secure financial escrow processing, card tokens, and driver payouts.
  • Google Maps API: For routing, live mapping, and geocoding coordinates.
• **Legal Requirements:** We may disclose your data if required to do so by Canadian provincial or federal law, or in response to valid legal requests by public authorities.

4. Data Retention and Security

The security of your data is paramount. We retain your Personal Data only for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes outlined in this policy and to comply with statutory financial record-keeping requirements. We utilize commercial-grade TLS/SSL encryption, JWT tokens via Clerk, and secure server environments to safeguard your data assets.

5. User Rights and Data Deletion

You have the full right to access, update, or request the erasure of the personal information we maintain about you.

• Account Deletion: You can submit a request for the permanent deletion of your account and all associated personal history directly within the application's account settings pane.
• Upon verification, we will purge all data profiles from our operational Neon database, except what we are legally or regulatory obligated to retain for tax records, accounting audits, or active fraud prevention.

6. Children's Privacy

Our Service is strictly not configured to address anyone under the age of 18. We do not knowingly collect personally identifiable information from children.

7. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update our Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of any structural modifications by posting the revised document on this URL and updating the "Last Updated" timestamp at the header.

8. Contact Us

If you have any questions or administrative inquiries regarding this Privacy Policy, please reach out:

• By email: support@areacab.ca
• By web portal: https://areacab.ca