Effective Date: Apr 8, 2024
Last Updated: Mar 8, 2024

This privacy policy (the "Policy") describes how users’ personal information is collected, used, and shared by Plurk ("we," "us," "our," "site"). "Plurk" includes all platforms of Plurk, including Plurk Web, Plurk Mobile Web, Plurk App, and Plurk Mobile Application. The information we collect from the purchase of Plurk Coin(s) is also subject to the Policy. By using Plurk, you consent to our collection, usage, sharing, and/or disclosure of your information in accordance with the purposes and methods described in this Policy.

Generally, we only collect the minimum information for identification based on the purposes as specified in the Policy. You do not need to register a Plurk account if you simply desire to browse the content on the site. You do not need to disclose your real name. We will not automatically track your precise location. You are free to create multiple accounts and update information for them as needed; you can also require us to delete your information.

When you visit our site or use our services, we may automatically collect information about you, including data usage, the information collected from Cookie and similar methods, and the information that you provide.

We collect the information that you directly provide us when using our services. This includes:

You do not need an account to use Plurk. If you create a Plurk account, there will be a username/nickname for your account which is either provided by you or generated automatically. Your username will be visible to other users on Plurk, and it does not need to be associated with your real name. You may be requested to provide a password. When using Plurk, you can provide other information as well, such as a personal profile, gender, age, phone number, city, or profile picture. You can decide at your own discretion whether to provide such type(s) of information, and they may be deleted at any time. We also store your user account's preferences and settings; we may request you to provide this information when you register an username or an account.

Data that can identify your device, such as the serial number of the device and the type of browser, may be collected.

We collect the content you submit to our services, including plurks and responses you post, saved drafts, messages sent between you and other users (such as private messages), the reports filed to us, and other communication. Your content may include text, links, images, GIF, audio files, and video files.

We collect information about the actions you take when you use our services, including your interaction with plurks (such as votes, saves, likes, etc.) and your interaction with other users (such as following, friending, and blocking). Your interactions with the communities such as the forums you follow and where you are active are collected as well.

If you purchase products or services from us (i.e. currently, Plurk Coins and merch), we will collect certain information from you including your name, address, email address, phone number and information relating to the products and/or services that you purchase.

You may choose to provide us with additional information. For example, we may collect information when you fill out a form, participate in Plurk user interviews or questionnaires, or otherwise communicate with us.

We use your information for the purposes listed below:

• to maintain and improve our services
• to communicate with users
• to prevent fraud and for safety issues
• to achieve effectiveness of Plurk’s commercial advertising and to optimize it
• to research and develop new functions
• to abide by the law, such as fulfilling tax obligations or responding to governmental requests

We will store the collected information if it was collected for the purposes as described in this Policy.

We take measures to prevent user information from being lost, stolen, misused, accessed without authorization or damaged. For example, we use HTTPS for message delivery and implement access control management to restrict our employees' access to nonpublic personal information.

We encourage users to secure their own accounts by setting up two-factor authentication.

• We need the information for operational purposes, that is, we use the information to provide our products or services and to improve them;
• We are requested by the law to retain the information;
• We need the information for other lawful purposes, such as to safeguard the rights of us, users, and/or other parties.
• You are entitled to request us to delete specific information; nonetheless, we will retain any information to comply with legal requirements or to carry out other lawful purposes.
• In addition, even if you delete your account, we will still retain your information to comply with legal requirements or to carry out other lawful purposes.

To fulfill the specific purposes described in this Policy, we will share your information in the ways listed below. You can control what you wish to share within the settings.

1. a) with the general public
   Plurk content is available to the public, and this includes your profile information such as username/nickname, display name, and profile picture. The public does not need to login to view certain content on your timeline. They can also find your content on Plurk or via other search engines.
   
2. b) with Plurk users
   Depending on your timeline privacy settings, you will interact with other Plurk users, including but not limited to the messages you liked or replurked, the users you followed or the users who liked your messages.
   

Advertising is one source of revenue that supports Plurk's operations and services. The advertisers can collect user information based on users' interaction with the advertisements and may also collect users' personal information, such as Cookie identifiers or IP addresses.

We use API and relevant embedded technology to make public user information available to other sites, applications, and personnel. Bots may be developed by third parties and you should review any terms and policies provided by a bot developer to understand how it processes your data before you decide to use it. We encourage you to regularly check the announcements issued by third-party developers for updates.

In order to respond to governmental requests, to comply with legal procedure, to protect the safety of any person and/or to assist us to protect against abuse or malicious behavior, we will store, use, share, or disclose your information when we deem it as reasonable and necessary.

You have the right to restrict, suspend or object to the processing of your personal data under certain circumstances.

If you deactivate your Plurk account, the relevant display name, username, and public profile will no longer be viewable on our site. A deactivated account can be restored at any time. If you delete the account, your data will be deleted after a certain period of time. If your Plurk account is deleted by mistake or accident, it can be restored up to within 14 days after such deletion.

By editing your personal data and adjusting your account settings, you will be able to access, correct or modify the information that you provided us. You can learn more about the information collected from you at "Your Data," and request to view other information if so available. You can also backup your Plurk content.

To control how Cookies collect and use information in the services, you can select one or more of the following measures.

You may disable and manage some of the Cookies through your browser settings. You will need to manage settings for each of the browsers that you use. Explanation about managing Cookies can be found in common browsers such as Firefox, Chrome, Safari (iOS), Safari (Mac), and Opera.

You can use the control settings of the above mentioned browsers to disable analytics Cookies. When using certain service providers, you can use their independent opt-out features, such as Google Analytics Opt-out Add-on.

Your mobile device may also have browser settings that allow you to manage Cookie usage. Your device may also contain settings regarding the collection and use of information within applications.

If you disable or delete Cookies, part of our services may not function smoothly. We may collect information in order to remember your opt-out preference.

The personal information collected from our site can be transferred to our servers located in other countries at any time. Once you use our site and submit your data, you expressly consent that, regardless of where you are (including Canada or any member state of European Union), we are authorized to collect, use, and store your data, and to collect, transfer, use, process, and colocate such data across all jurisdictional borders anywhere around the world.

Underage users
Our services are available to the general public. Underage users must obtain consent from their legal representatives if they wish to use our services and provide their personal data. You represent and warrant that you possess the capacity and legal qualifications to use our services. If you are underage, you represent and warrant that you have obtained consent from your legal representative about the usage of our services. We have already proactively placed age restrictions on certain services to avoid situations where we are unable to confirm users' age. We understand the personal information of underage users who use our services should be subject to additional protection. Subject to the above, we will not knowingly collect personal data from any underage users.

We can modify the content of this Policy at any time. We will post an announcement about any changes made to this Policy on this page and update the "last updated date" below. There are times when we will notify you through other reasonable means such as email notification, e.g., when a major change in the Policy has been made. If we wish to process your personal data for purpose(s) other than the original purpose(s) of data collection for which you have expressed consent, we will obtain your consent for the new purpose(s) prior to processing your personal data for such purpose(s).

Should you have any questions regarding our Privacy Policy, please do not hesitate to send us an email at [email protected].