Introduction

Welcome to ASKANYTIME.com. At Techovate Digital Solutions LLC-SPC ("we" or "us"), we are committed to protecting your privacy and handling your personal data in a transparent manner. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your personal data when you use our website at askanytime.com, our online platform (“Platform”) and/or our online services (“Service”).

Words and phrases with capital letters which are not defined in this Privacy Policy shall have the meaning given to them in our Terms of Service.

Personal Data We Collect About You

We collect several types of personal data to provide and improve our Services and to run the Platform:

Personal data provided by you:

• Account Data: Name, email address, phone number, password, profile picture, biography, and, if you register as an Expert, professional qualifications, certifications, and areas of expertise.
• Payment Data: Billing address, payment method details (handled by our secure third-party payment processors). We do not store full credit card numbers on our servers.
• Communications Data: Personal data included in messages, requests, or feedback you send to us, or other Users through the Platform.
  • Consultation Data: Personal data that you disclose during Consultations. This may include so-called sensitive personal data, such as health-related data, political or philosophical opinions, religious beliefs, criminal records or racial origins. We will collect this personal data only if you disclose it during a Consultation with an Expert.

Information Collected Automatically:

• Use Data: IP address, browser type, device information, pages visited, time spent on pages, and other diagnostic data.
• Cookies and tracking technologies: We use cookies and similar technologies to track activity on our Platform and hold certain personal data collected in that way, to improve user experience. You can control cookies through your browser settings.

Information From Third Parties:

• We may receive information about you from other Users (e.g., feedback or reports).
• We may receive information from background check providers (for Expert verification, where applicable).
• Social media platforms (if you choose to link your account).

How We Use Your Personal Data

We use your personal data for the following lawful bases and purposes:

How We Share Your Personal Data

We do not sell your personal data. We may share your personal data where necessary as set out below for the purposes for which we will use your personal data above:

• With Other Users: Your public profile (name, bio, expertise, etc.) is visible to all Users. When you engage in a Consultation, the relevant Client or Expert will see the information necessary to complete the Consultation. However, you may opt to hide your profile for it to become invisible to other Users. This can be done from your profile section by choosing the “Hibernate” option.
• With Service Providers: We engage trusted third-party companies (e.g., cloud hosting, payment processing, customer support, analytics) to perform functions on our behalf. They are contractually bound to protect your data and only process it per our instructions.
• To Comply with Legal Obligations: We will disclose personal data about you where required by UAE law, a court order, or to defend our legal rights. This includes sharing information with UAE regulatory or law enforcement bodies.
• Business Transfers: third parties to whom we may choose to sell, transfer or merge parts of our business or our assets. Alternatively, we may seek to acquire other businesses or merge with them. If a change happens to our business, then the new owners may use your personal data in the same way as set out in this privacy policy.
• With Your Consent: We will share your information with third parties when we have your explicit consent to do so.

We require all third parties to respect the security of your personal data and to treat it in accordance with the law. We do not allow our third-party service providers to use your personal data for their own purposes and we only permit them to process your personal data for specified purposes and in accordance with our instructions.

International Data Transfers

Your information may be processed and stored outside the UAE, including in other countries that may have different data protection laws. When we transfer your data out of the UAE, we ensure appropriate safeguards are in place and we only do so with your consent.

Data Security

We implement robust technical and organizational measures to protect your data, including encryption (SSL for data in transit, and at rest for sensitive data), access controls, and secure server infrastructure. While we strive to use commercially acceptable means to protect your data, no method of transmission over the Internet or electronic storage is 100% secure.

Data Retention

We will retain your personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes for which it is collected, as outlined in this Policy, including for the purposes of satisfying any legal, regulatory, tax, accounting or reporting requirements (e.g., UAE financial record-keeping laws require retaining transaction data for 5+ years).

To determine the appropriate retention period for personal data, we consider the amount, nature and sensitivity of the personal data, the potential risk of harm from unauthorised use or disclosure of your personal data, the purposes for which we process your personal data and whether we can achieve those purposes through other means, and the applicable legal, regulatory, tax, accounting or other requirements.

Certain personal data are retained as follows:

• Recordings: If a Consultation is recorded (with both parties' consent), the recording will be stored for a period of [insert, e.g., 90 days] to allow for dispute resolution and will then be automatically deleted
• User Account Deletion: If you request us to delete your User Account, we will begin the process of deleting or anonymizing your personal data, except where we are legally required to retain it.

Your Data Rights

You have the following rights regarding your personal data:

• Obtain information: the right to obtain information on how we process your personal data;
• Transfer: the right to request a copy of the personal data we hold about you and/or to have it transferred to a third party;
• Correction: the right to request the correction of inaccurate or incomplete personal data we hold about you.
• Deletion: The right to request we delete your personal data.
• Objection/Restriction: The right to object to or restrict certain processing activities conducted on your personal data.
• Withdraw Consent: Where we rely on consent, you have the right to withdraw it at any time. The withdrawal of your consent will not affect processing activities which were performed before your consent was withdrawn. However, note that when you withdraw your consent for any reason, we may need to deactivate and close your User Account.

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at [insert e.g. dpo@techovate.net]. We will respond to all legitimate requests in accordance with applicable laws. We may need to verify your identity before processing your request.

Experts As Data Controllers

During Consultations, Experts may collect personal data from Clients. In doing so, Experts act as independent data controllers and are solely responsible for their own data processing activities. We do not control, supervise, or assume responsibility for how Experts handle personal data, including their compliance with applicable data protection laws. Accordingly, we disclaim all liability arising from the Expert's collection, use, or processing of personal data.

Changes to This Policy

We may update this Policy from time to time. We will notify you of any changes by posting the new Policy on this page, updating the "Last Updated" date, and, if the changes are significant, we may provide a more prominent notice (e.g., email notification).

Contact Us

If you have any questions, concerns, or complaints about this Privacy Policy or our data practices, please contact our Data Protection Officer at:

Dispute Resolution

Any disputes relating to this Privacy Policy will be subject to the laws of the United Arab Emirates and the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of the UAE.