SOCALOCA Data Policy
Privacy Policy
1. What kind of information do we collect?
To provide products and services on the SOCALOCA Platform, we must process information about you. The type of information that we collect depends on how you use our products and services. You can learn how to access and delete information that we collect by visiting your account settings.
a. Things that you and others do and provide
Information and content, you and others provide: We collect the content, communications, endorsements, and other information you provide when you use products and services on our Platforms, including when you sign up for an account, create or share content and endorse or communicate with others. This can include information in or about the content that you provide (e.g. metadata), such as the location of a photo or the date a file was created. Our systems automatically process content and communications that you and others provide to analyse context and what’s in them for the purposes described in Section 2 below.
Data with special protections: We would never ask you to provide information in your account or profile page about your religious views, political views, who you are “interested in” or your health. This and other information (such as age, disability, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation, marriage and civil partnership, and pregnancy, and maternity, and trade union membership) is subject to special protections under UK and EU law.
Networks and connections: We collect information about the people, accounts, endorsements, likes, teams, leagues and tournaments that you are connected to and how you interact with them across our Platforms, such as your most endorsed connections. We also collect contact information if you choose to upload, sync or import it from a device (such as an address book or call log or SMS log history), which we use for things such as helping you and others find people you may know and for the other purposes listed in Section 2 below.
Your usage: We collect information about how you use our products and services, such as the types of content that you view or engage with, the features you use, the actions you take, the people or accounts you interact with and the time, frequency and duration of your activities. For example, we log when you’re using and have last used our Platforms, and what posts, videos and other content you view, like and endorse.
Information about transactions made on our Platforms: If you use our Platforms to purchase additional products or services, (such as when you make a purchase bulk tournament organising or make a donation), we collect information about the purchase or transaction. This includes payment information, such as your credit or debit card number and other card information, other account and authentication information, and billing, delivery and contact details.
Things others do and information they provide about you: We also receive and analyse content, communications and information that other people provide when they use our products and services. This can include information about you, such as when others share or endorse a photo of you, send a message to you, or upload, sync or import your contact information.
b. Device information
We collect information from and about the computers, phones, connected TVs and other web-connected devices you use that integrate with our Platforms, and we combine this information across different devices that you use. For example, we use information collected about your use of our products and services on your phone to better personalise the content (including ads) or features that you see when you use our products and services on another device, such as your laptop or tablet, or to measure whether you took an action in response to an ad that we showed you on your phone on a different device.
Information that we obtain from these devices includes:
Device attributes: information such as the operating system, hardware and software versions, battery level, signal strength, available storage space, browser type, app and file names and types, and plugins.
Device operations: information about operations and behaviours performed on the device, such as whether a window is in the foreground or background, or mouse movements (which can help distinguish humans from bots).
Identifiers: unique identifiers, device IDs and other identifiers, such as accounts you use.
Device signals: Bluetooth signals, information about nearby Wi-Fi access points, beacons and mobile phone masts.
Data from device settings: information you allow us to receive through device settings that you turn on, such as access to your GPS location, camera or photos.
Network and connections: information such as the name of your mobile operator or ISP, language, time zone, mobile phone number, IP address, connection speed and, in some cases, information about other devices that are nearby or on your network, so we can do things such as help you stream a video from your phone to your TV.
Cookie data: data from cookies stored on your device, including cookie IDs and settings. Learn more about how we use cookies in the SOCALOCA Cookies Policy and MatchMakR Cookies Policy.
c. Information from partners.
Advertisers and publishers can send us information about your activities off SOCALOCA – including information about your device, websites you visit, purchases you make, the ads you see and how you use their services – whether or not you have a SOCALOCA account or are logged in to SOCALOCA. For example, a business could tell us about a purchase you made in its shop. We also receive information about your online and offline actions and purchases from third-party data providers who have the rights to provide us with your information.
Partners receive your data when you visit or use their services, or through third parties that they work with. We require each of these partners to have lawful rights to collect, use and share your data before providing us with any data.
2. How do we use this information?
We use the information that we have to provide and support the SOCALOCA Platforms and related products and services in the SOCALOCA Terms as described below:
a. Provide, personalise and improve our products and services.
We use the information we have to deliver our products and services, including to personalise features and content (including connections, endorsements, and ads) and make suggestions for you (such as teams, players, fans, matches or tournaments that you may be interested in or may want to follow) on and off our Platforms. To create personalised products and services that are unique and relevant to you, we use your connections, preferences, interests and activities based on the data that we collect and learn from you and others (including any data with special protections that you choose to provide where you have given your explicit consent); how you use and interact with our products and services; and the people, teams, tournaments, coches that you’re connected to and interested in, on and off our Platforms.
b. Information across SOCALOCA Platforms and devices:
We connect information about your activities on different SOCALOCA Platforms and devices to provide a more tailored and consistent experience for all our products and services that you use, wherever you use them. For example, we can suggest that you watch a tournament on our website that includes people you are connected with in the SOCALOCA app.
c. Location-related information:
We use location-related information – such as your current location, where you live, the places you like to go, and the businesses and people you’re near – to provide, personalise and improve our products and services, including ads, for you and others. Location-related information can be based on things such as precise device location (if you’ve allowed us to collect it), IP addresses and information from your and others’ use of SOCALOCA platforms (such as matches you play or participate in).
d. Product research and development:
We use the information we have to develop, test and improve our products and services, including by conducting surveys and research, and testing and troubleshooting new products and features.
e. Ads and other sponsored content:
We use the information we have about you – including information about your interests, actions and connections – to select and personalise ads, offers and other sponsored content that we show you.
f. Provide measurement, analytics and other business services.
We use the information we have (including your activity off our Platforms, such as the websites you visit and ads you see) to help advertisers and other partners measure the effectiveness and distribution of their ads and services, and understand the types of people who use their services and how people interact with their websites, apps and services.
g. Promote safety, integrity and security.
We use the information that we have to verify accounts and activity, combat harmful conduct, detect and prevent spam and other bad experiences, maintain the integrity of our products and services, and promote safety and security on and off SOCALOCA Platforms. For example, we use data that we have to investigate suspicious activity or breaches of our Terms or Policies.
h. Communicate with you.
We use the information that we have to send you marketing communications, communicate with you about our products and services, as well as communicating information about our Policies and Terms. We also use your information to respond to you when you contact us.
i. Research and innovate for social good.
We use the information we have (including from research partners and FAs we collaborate with) to conduct and support research and innovation on topics of general social welfare, technological advancement, public interest, health and well-being. For example, we analyse information that we have about participation levels at grassroots football to assist FAs in making informed policy.
3. How is this information shared?
Your information is shared with others in the following ways:
a. Sharing on SOCALOCA Platforms
People and accounts that you share and communicate with: When you share and communicate using the products and services on our Platform, your connections are your audience. You can further customise a particular audience for some communication, for example, teammates,tournament organisers, or scouts. Your network of connections can also see actions that you have taken on our Platforms, including engagement with ads and sponsored content. We also let other accounts see who has viewed their photos, videos and endorsements.
Public information can be seen by anyone on our Platforms with a valid account. This includes your username, any information you share with a public audience, information in your public profile, and content you share on your account page. Public information can also be seen, accessed, reshared or downloaded through third-party services such as search engines, APIs and offline media such as TV, and by apps, websites and other services that integrate with our Platforms.
Content that others share or reshare about you: You should consider who you connect with on SOCALOCA, because your connections can see your activity on our Platforms and can like and endorse your pictures and videos. Also, your connections may choose to share it with others on and off our Platforms, including people and businesses outside the audience that you shared with. For example, when you share a post to your connections, they can download, screenshot or reshare that content to others on or off our Platforms. Also, when you like someone else’s post or endorse their skills, your comment or reaction is visible to anyone who can see the other person’s content.
Information about your active status or presence on our Platforms: People in your networks can see signals telling them whether you are active on our Platforms or when you last accessed our Platforms.
New owner: If the ownership or control of all or part of our Platforms or their assets changes, we may transfer your information to the new owner.
b. Sharing with third-party partners
We work with third-party partners who help us provide and improve our products and services or who use SOCALOCA Analytics to inform their football policy-making, which makes it possible to operate our companies and provide free services to people around the world. We don’t sell any of your information to anyone and we never will. We also impose strict restrictions on how our partners can use and disclose the data we provide.
Here are the types of third parties that we share information with:
Partners who use our analytics services: We provide aggregated statistics and insights that help organisations and businesses understand how people are engaging with their events, tournaments, matches, leagues and other content on our Platforms. For example, Team Managers, Tournament Organisers, Football Leagues, and FAs receive information about the number of people or accounts who viewed, reacted to or commented on their events, matches, tournaments and leagues, as well as aggregate demographic and other information that helps them understand interactions with their content.
Advertisers: We provide advertisers with reports about the kinds of people seeing their ads and how their ads are performing, but we don’t share information that personally identifies you (information such as your name, mobile number, or email address that by itself can be used to contact you or identifies who you are) unless you give us permission. For example, we provide general demographic and interest information to advertisers (for example, that an ad was seen by a woman between the ages of 20 and 30 who lives in Durban and enjoys playing football) to help them better understand their audience. We also confirm which ads led you to make a purchase or take an action with an advertiser.
Measurement partners: We share information about you with companies that aggregate it to provide analytics and measurement reports to our partners.
Vendors and service providers: We provide information and content to vendors and service providers who support our business, such as by providing technical infrastructure services, analysing how our Platforms are used, providing customer service, facilitating payments or conducting surveys.
Researchers and academics: We also provide information and content to research partners and academics to conduct research that advances scholarship and innovation that supports our mission and enhances technical innovation in social welfare through football.
Law enforcement or legal requests: We share information with law enforcement or in response to legal requests in the circumstances outlined in Section 8 below.
4. How does MatchMakR Ltd and Soca Loca work together?
Soca Loca is a product wholley owned and developed by MatchMakR Ltd. SOCALOCA shares infrastructure, systems and technology with MatchMakR Ltd to provide an innovative, relevant, consistent and safe experience across all SOCALOCA Platforms that you use.
5. What is our legal basis for processing data?
We collect, use and share the data that we have in the ways described above:
- as necessary to fulfil our Terms of Service;
- consistent with your consent, which you may revoke at any time through your SOCALOCA account settings;
- as necessary to comply with our legal obligations;
- to protect your interests, or those of others;
- as necessary in the public interest, and;
- as necessary for our (or others’) legitimate interests, including our interests in providing an innovative, personalised, safe and profitable service to our users and partners, unless those interests are overridden by your interests or fundamental rights and freedoms that require protection of personal data.
6. How can you exercise your rights provided under the GDPR?
Under the General Data Protection Regulation, you have the right to access, rectify, port and erase your data, which can all be done from your SOCALOCA account settings. You also have the right to object to and restrict certain processing of your data. This includes:
- the right to object to our processing of your data for direct marketing, which you can exercise by using the “unsubscribe” link in such marketing communications, and
- the right to object to our processing of your data where we are performing a task in the public interest or pursuing our legitimate interests or those of a third party.
7. Data retention, account deactivation and deletion
We store data until it is no longer necessary to provide the products and services on our Platforms or until your account is deleted – whichever comes first. If you submit a copy of your valid photo ID for account verification purposes, we delete that copy 30 days after submission.
When you delete your account, we delete things that you have posted, such as your photos and videos, likes and endorsements, and you won’t be able to recover this information later. Information that others have shared about you isn’t part of your account and won’t be deleted. If you don’t want to delete your account but want to temporarily stop using SOCALOCA, you can deactivate your account instead. To delete your account at any time, please visit your SOCALOCA account settings.
8. How do we respond to legal requests or prevent harm?
We access, preserve and share your information with regulators, law enforcement or others:
In response to a legal request, if we have a good-faith belief that the law requires us to do so. We can also respond to legal requests when we have a good-faith belief that the response is required by law in that jurisdiction, affects users in that jurisdiction and is consistent with internationally recognised standards.
When we have a good-faith belief that it is necessary to: detect, prevent and address fraud, unauthorised use of our Platforms, breaches of our Terms or Policies, or other harmful or illegal activity; to protect ourselves (including our rights, property or Platforms), you or others, including as part of investigations or regulatory enquiries; or to prevent death or imminent bodily harm.Information we receive about you (including financial transaction data related to purchases made on SOCALOCA) can be accessed and preserved for an extended period when it is the subject of a legal request or obligation, governmental investigation or investigations of possible violations of our terms or policies, or otherwise to prevent harm. We also retain information from accounts disabled for term breaches for at least a year to prevent repeat abuse or other term breaches.
9. How do we operate and transfer data as part of our global services?
We share information globally, both internally within the MatchMakR Companies and externally with our partners and with those you connect and share with around the world in accordance with this Policy. Information controlled by MatchMakR Ltd will be transferred or transmitted to, or stored and processed in, the United States or other countries outside where you live for the purposes as described in this Policy. These data transfers are necessary to provide the services set forth in the SOCALOCA Terms, and to globally operate and provide our Products to you. We utilise standard contractual clauses approved by the European Commission and rely on the European Commission’s adequacy decisions about certain countries, as applicable, for data transfers from the EEA to the United States and other countries.
10. How will we notify you of changes to this Policy?
We’ll notify you before we make changes to this Policy and give you the opportunity to review the revised Policy before you choose to continue using our Platforms.
11. How to contact SOCALOCA with questions
If you have questions about this Policy, you can contact us as described below. The data controller responsible for your information is MatchMakR Ltd, which you can contact by writing to:
The Data Protection Officer
MatchMakR Ltd
Blue Star House
234-244 Stockwell Road
London SW9 9SP
United Kingdom
You also have the right to lodge a complaint with MatchMakR Ltd’s lead supervisory authority, the UK Information Commissioner’s Office, or your local supervisory authority.