Takalam L.T.D. (“Takalam”), a limited liability company established in the United Arab Emirates, owns and maintains (a) www.TakalamHere.com, a wellness counselling website, as well as a mobile application (the “App”), and collectively (the "Platform").
Takalam is dedicated to maintaining privacy protections that provide users with confidence and clarity whenever using the Platform. Respecting users' privacy is one of the most important pillars of Takalam’s operations. No other counseling platform is more committed to protecting privacy interests and personal data.
This Privacy Policy outlines the foundation upon which any personal data that Takalam collects from you, or that you provide while using the Platform (collectively referred to as “Personal Data”, further defined below), will be processed in connection with your use of the Platform and the Services (defined below).
Please read this Privacy Policy carefully before using the Platform to understand our views, policies, and practices regarding your Personal Data and how we will treat it.
All credit/debit card details and financial information may be recorded and stored by Takalam, subject to your explicit consent. All credit/debit card details and personally identifiable information will NOT be, sold, shared, rented, or leased to any third parties. Takalam will not pass any debit/credit card details to third parties.
Privacy Policy and the User Agreement
The User Agreement, which all users voluntarily and knowingly agree to enter into by accessing the Platform, and this Privacy Policy constitute all terms and conditions for the use of the Platform. By your use of the Platform to obtain counseling services, you agree to the handling of your Personal Data in accordance with this Privacy Policy. It is crucial to note that your rights under UAE and ADGM data protection laws are fully respected, including rights to access, rectify, and delete your data, as well as to object to certain data processing activities. Takalam processes Personal Data based on explicit user consent, legitimate interests, and legal obligations. If you do not understand any aspect of the Privacy Policy or have any queries in relation to it, please contact us at info@Takalam.ae.
The Platform may include links to third-party websites, plug-ins, and applications, including those of Counselors whose Services are offered through the use of the Platform. Clicking on those links or enabling those connections may allow third parties to collect or share data about you. Takalam does not control these third-party websites and applications and is not responsible for their privacy policies or their use of your personal data. When you leave the Platform, you are encouraged to read the privacy policy of every website and application you visit.
Restricted Use of the Platform By Minors
The Platform is not for use by persons under 18 years of age, and parents or guardians shall restrict minors' access to the Platform. Takalam does not knowingly collect Personal Data from persons under 18. If you are under 18, you are not authorized to use the Platform, and you shall not provide any information about yourself to us. By accessing, using, and/or submitting information to or through the Platform, you represent that you are not under 18 years of age. If we learn we have collected or received Personal Data from a person under 18, we will use that information only to respond directly to that child (or his/her parent or legal guardian) to inform the child that he/she cannot use the Platform, and we will subsequently delete that information. If you believe we might have any information from or about a person under 18 for which there is no legal parental or guardian consent, please contact us at dpo@Takalam.ae.
We employ robust mechanisms to verify parental consent for users under 18. If you believe we have collected data from a minor without proper consent, please contact us immediately.
Personal Information
Personal Data or personal information means any information about an individual from which that person can be identified. We may collect, use, store, and transfer different kinds of Personal Data about you, which includes but is not limited to:
Aggregated Data
We collect, use, and share aggregated data such as statistical or demographic data for any purpose. Aggregated data may be derived from your Personal Data but is not considered Personal Data as this data does not directly or indirectly reveal your identity. We may aggregate your usage data to calculate the percentage of users accessing a specific feature. However, if we combine or connect aggregated data with your Personal Data so that it can directly or indirectly identify you, we treat the combined data as Personal Data which will be used in accordance with this Privacy Policy.
How is your Personal Data collected?
We employ various methods to collect data from and about you, including through:
If you fail to provide Personal Data
Where we need to collect Personal Data by law, or under the terms of the agreements we have with you and you fail to provide that data when requested, we cannot perform the agreement we have or are trying to enter into with you. In this case, we may cancel an appointment you have booked through the Platform, but we will notify you about the cancellation.
How we use your Personal Data
We will only use your Personal Data when the law allows us to. Most commonly, we will use your Personal Data when it is necessary. These are the legal basis for us processing your Personal Data:
We will only process your Sensitive Personal Data, including health data, in accordance with the applicable laws and regulations. The processing will be conducted solely for the purposes permitted by law and in a manner that ensures the protection of your privacy. The legal basis for processing your Sensitive Personal Data are as follows:
The following are some of the common purposes or activities for which the Data may be processed:
AI Inputs and AI Outputs
If you use features within the Services that incorporate artificial intelligence (AI) or machine learning, we may collect and process the information you provide to those features (such as prompts, messages, or uploaded content) (“AI Inputs”). We may also process the content generated by those features (“AI Outputs”), particularly where it is saved, shared, or used within your account.
Depending on the specific implementation, we may use AI Inputs and Outputs to:
Please be aware that AI Inputs may sometimes include personal or sensitive information, such as details about your health or well-being. If this occurs, we will only process such data with your explicit consent, as required by applicable data protection laws including the ADGM Data Protection Regulations 2021.
We will not use your sensitive personal information for model training or enhancement unless it has been properly anonymised or you have given specific written consent to allow such use.
You are welcome to share what you feel is relevant when using the AI features. However, we encourage you to review the privacy implications and only share information that you are comfortable disclosing.
If you use our Services in connection with a counsellor or other third-party provider, please note that their use of your data is governed by their own privacy practices. We recommend reviewing those separately where relevant.
Withdrawal of Consent
If we are relying on your consent to process your Personal Data, which may be express and/or implied consent depending on the applicable law, you have the right to withdraw your consent at any time. You can withdraw your consent at any time by contacting us by using the contact details provided in this Privacy Policy.
However, please note that this will not affect the lawfulness of the processing before its withdrawal nor, when applicable law allows, will it affect the processing of your Personal Data conducted in reliance on lawful processing grounds other than consent. To be clear, we require your explicit consent for the processing of your Sensitive Personal Data as per this Privacy Policy.
Change of Purpose
We will only use your Personal Data for the purposes for which we collected it unless we reasonably consider that we need to use it for another reason and that reason is compatible with the original purpose. If you wish to get an explanation as to how the processing for the new purpose is compatible with the original purpose, please contact us at dpo@Takalam.ae. If we need to use your Personal Data for an unrelated purpose, we will notify you and explain the legal basis which allows us to do so. Please note that we may process your Personal Data without your knowledge or consent, in compliance with the above rules, where this is required or permitted by law.
Location Information
You can choose whether or not to allow the Platform to collect and use real-time information about your device’s location through the device’s privacy settings. We will only use location data to enhance the functionality of the Platform and will not share this data without your explicit consent, except where required by law. If you block the use of location information, some parts of the Platform may then be inaccessible or not function properly.
Links to Third-Party Sites
The Platform may, from time to time, contain links to and from the websites of our partner networks, advertisers, and affiliates. If you follow a link to any of these websites, please note that these websites have their own privacy policies and that we do not accept any responsibility or liability for these policies. Please check these policies before you submit any Personal Data to these websites.
Where we store your Personal Data
We will at all times comply with the applicable laws, regulations, decrees, and policies issued by relevant authorities in the UAE (collectively, “Local Laws”) and will take all steps reasonably necessary to ensure that your data is treated securely and in accordance with this Privacy Policy. We store all your personal counseling data (including your primary care information, secondary care information, medication information, and diagnostic information) on secure servers located in the UAE, operated by Azure North UAE Data Centre, to process and store Personal Data and Sensitive Personal Data collected from our users, including those in the EEA or UK. Azure North UAE Data Centre has taken steps to ensure that its services can be used to transfer and process EU personal data in a GDPR-compliant manner.
Any payment transactions will be encrypted. We do not store any credit or debit card information. Payments are processed via a third-party payment provider that is fully compliant with Payment Card Industry (PCI) data security standards. Any payment transactions are encrypted using SSL technology. Once we have received your information, we will use strict procedures, industry-standard physical, technical, and administrative safeguards and security features to try to prevent unauthorized access.
Disclosures of your Personal Data
You agree that we have the right to share your Personal Data, with the exception of your personal health records, with any employee or contractor of Takalam. We may share your Personal Data with the parties set out below for the purposes set out in the table above. We may disclose your Personal Data to third parties in the following scenarios:
We require all Third Parties to respect the security of your Personal Data and to treat it in accordance with the laws of the United Arab Emirates. We do not allow our third-party service providers to use your Personal Data for their own purposes and only permit them to process your Personal Data for specified purposes and in accordance with our instructions.
Your Sensitive Personal Data will not be transferred to any Third Parties without your explicit consent.
Transfers of Personal Data outside of the United Arab Emirates; Application of GDPR Issues
The Personal Data that we collect from you is stored in the UAE, but may be shared within Takalam by Takalam employees/agents/contractors. This may involve your data being transferred to, and stored at, a destination outside of your country of residence, or outside of the jurisdictions in which the persons to whom such Personal Data relates. It may also be processed by staff operating outside such jurisdictions who work for Takalam or a vendor. Such staff may be engaged in, among other things, the fulfillment of your booking/appointment, and the provision of support services. Your Personal Data may be transferred, stored, processed, and used by our affiliated companies and/or non-affiliated service providers in one or more countries outside your country. We ensure your Personal Data is protected in these cases by requiring all our group companies to follow the same rules when processing your Personal Data. Whenever we transfer your Personal Data out of such jurisdictions or to third parties, we aim to ensure a similar degree of protection is afforded to it by the use of contractual obligations such as Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs) or Binding Corporate Rules (BCRs). Where we use certain service providers, we may use specific contracts that give Personal Data the same protection it has in such a relevant jurisdiction. In the event of a conflict between applicable laws, regulations, decrees, and policies issued by relevant authorities in the UAE (collectively, “Local Laws”) and any legal authorities issued by foreign governments, the Local Laws will prevail.
Any Sensitive Personal Data, including health-related information, that is to be transferred outside of the UAE will only be shared after obtaining the explicit consent of the user. Prior to such transfer, we will ensure that the data is anonymized in accordance with the relevant local laws and regulations, particularly those governing Sensitive Personal Data, such as health data, to safeguard the privacy and confidentiality of the data. This process will comply with the Local Laws.
GDPR
Takalam makes all reasonable efforts to comply with applicable, existing European Union (EU) data privacy regulations. In particular, the General Data Protection Regulation (2016/679) is a regulation in EU law on data protection and privacy applicable and available to all individuals within the European Union and the European Economic Area. This body of regulations, which also addresses the export of personal data outside the EU and EEA and is commonly referred to as “GDPR.” The basic tenants of the promulgated GDPR regulations include, but are not limited to disclosure when Takalam can sell, transfer, or third party marketing of User’s data.
At Takalam, you already have the ability to access your Personal Data and use it as you wish. This Privacy Policy and User Agreement is clear on what consent we seek with regard to your data and prior to your engagement with your Provider. We will provide our user notice of any data breach involving Personal Data that may occur.
The GDPR takes into account what has been termed the right “to forget”, effectively providing for you to request the deletion of your data once you cease using the Platform. This particular tenant of the GDPR may conflict with other applicable medical records retention laws. Applicable individual country medical retention laws are generally considered an acceptable exception to the GDPR regulations regarding the right to the deletion of certain data.
In the United States, this requires at least seven (7) years of retention, which is common globally. In other countries, retention of ten (10) years or more is required. Consequently, Takalam will not erase private health data directly upon a Client’s request, because of legal duties making it essential for medical file retention purposes.
Data Security
The Platform deploys advanced encryption protocols and secure server infrastructure to protect your Personal Data transmissions, particularly sensitive health data, in accordance with UAE and ADGM data protection regulations. While we strive to secure all Data, we cannot guarantee absolute security due to the inherent risks of internet transmissions. Users are advised to take additional precautions, such as using secure networks and regularly updating passwords, to further safeguard their data. In the event of a data breach, we will promptly notify affected users and relevant authorities as required by law.
We implement stringent security measures to protect your subscription and payment data, including encryption, secure payment gateways, and regular security audits.
Data Breach Notification
In the event of a data breach involving your personal data, we will notify you and the relevant authorities within a reasonable timeframe, as required by applicable law, detailing the nature of the breach, the criteria used to assess its severity, and the measures taken to mitigate its effects. Notification will occur within 72 hours of becoming aware of the breach, unless a longer period is justified by exceptional circumstances.
Passwords and Confidentiality
If you are provided with a password or any other piece of information as part of our security procedures for a registration-only section of the Platform, you are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your password and username for the Platform and you are responsible for all activities that are carried out under them. It is important for you to protect yourself against unauthorized access to your password and to your devices used to access our Services. You are responsible for keeping your password confidential. We urge you to take steps to keep your personal information safe by not disclosing your password and by logging out of your account after each use especially when you have finished using a shared device. It is your responsibility to control the dissemination and use of your password, and to control access to and use of your user ID and password. We do not have the means to check the identities of people using the Platform and we will not be liable where your password or username is used by someone else. You agree to promptly notify us of any unauthorized use of your password or username or any other breach of security of which you become aware. We have the right to disable any user identification code or password, whether chosen by you or allocated by us, at any time, if in our opinion, you have failed to comply with any of the provisions of these terms or the Terms of Use. If you need to deactivate your account, promptly inform us.
Data Retention
We will only retain your Personal Data for as long as reasonably necessary to fulfill the purposes we collected it for, including for the purposes of satisfying any legal, regulatory, tax, accounting, or reporting requirements. 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 unauthorized 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. Generally, the retention periods for different aspects of your Personal Data will be six years. We may retain your Personal Data for a longer period in the event of a complaint or if we reasonably believe there is a prospect of litigation in respect to our relationship with you. In some circumstances, we will anonymize your Personal Data (so that it can no longer be associated with you) for research or statistical purposes, in which case we may use this information indefinitely without further notice to you. In some circumstances, you can ask us to delete your data: see your legal rights below for further information.
Cookies
The Platform may use "cookies" to enhance your online experience. Cookies are small text files placed on your computer’s hard drive by a web page server, containing information such as user ID, preferences, and browsing activities. Cookies cannot run programs or deliver viruses to your computer. They are uniquely assigned to you and can only be read by the web server that issued them. The primary purpose of cookies is to save you time by telling the Platform you have returned to a specific page. For example, if you register an account with Takalam, a cookie helps recall your specific information on subsequent visits, simplifying the process of recording your personal information. When you return to the Platform, the information you previously provided can be retrieved, enabling you to easily use customized features.
At your option, expense, and responsibility, you may accept or decline cookies. You may block cookies or delete cookies from your hard drive. However, by disabling cookies, you may not have access to the entire set of features of this Platform and some parts of them may become inaccessible or not function properly. Most web browsers automatically accept cookies, but you can usually modify your browser setting to decline cookies if you prefer. If you choose to decline cookies, you may not be able to fully experience the interactive features of the Platform. The Platform uses cookies to distinguish you from other users. This helps us to provide you with a good experience when you browse the Platform and also allows us to improve our services. You can set your browser to refuse all or some browser cookies, or to alert you when websites set or access cookies. For more information about the cookies we use, please see our Cookie Policy.
Promotional Offers from Us
We may use your Identity, Contact, Technical, Usage, and Profile Data and Special Categories of Personal Data to form a view on what we think you may want or need, or what may be of interest to you. This is how we decide which products, services, and offers may be relevant for you. We call this marketing. You will receive marketing communications from us if you have requested information from us or created an account or purchased services from us or if you provided us with your details when you entered a competition or registered for a promotion and, in each case, you have not opted out of receiving that marketing.
Marketing and Opt Out
We strive to provide you with choices regarding certain Personal Data uses, particularly around marketing and advertising. We will always give you the option to choose not to receive marketing communications from us. If you do not wish to have your Personal Data used by us to promote our own or third parties’ products or services, you can opt-out by contacting us. You can ask us or third parties to stop sending you marketing messages at any time by following the opt-out links on any marketing message sent to you or by contacting us at any time by sending us an email. If we have sent you a promotional e-mail, you may send us a return e-mail asking to be omitted from future e-mail distributions.
Third-party Marketing
We will get your express opt-in consent before we share your Personal Data with any third-party company for marketing purposes. We do not control third parties’ collection or use of your information to serve interest-based advertising. However, these third parties may provide you with ways to choose not to have your information collected or used in this way. If you do not want us to use information that we collect or that you provide to us to deliver advertisements according to our advertisers’ target-audience preferences, you can opt-out by contacting us.
Your Legal Rights
Under certain circumstances, you have rights under data protection laws in relation to your Personal Data. In particular, you have the right to make the following requests at any time by contacting us at dpo@Takalam.ae:
We may need to request specific information from you to help us confirm your identity and ensure your right to access your Personal Data (or to exercise any of your other rights). This is a security measure to ensure that Personal Data is not disclosed to any person who has no right to receive it. We may also contact you to ask you for further information in relation to your request to speed up our response. You will not have to pay a fee to access your Personal Data (or to exercise any of the other rights). However, we may charge a reasonable fee if your request is clearly unfounded, repetitive, or excessive. Alternatively, we may refuse to comply with your request in these circumstances. We try to respond to all legitimate requests within one month. Occasionally it may take us longer than a month if your request is particularly complex or you have made a number of requests. In this case, we will notify you and keep you updated.
Automated Decision-Making
We may use automated decision-making or profiling in the context of our subscription services to enhance your experience. Takalam does not make automated decisions that produce legal effects or similarly significant consequences without human involvement. You can request human intervention if you believe that an automated decision has adversely affected you.
Data Controllers
We will be the controller and processor of your Personal Data provided to, or collected by or for, or processed in connection with, our Services, regardless of your location. However, if you are located in the EEA, UK, or any other jurisdiction with similar data protection laws, you may have additional rights and protections under those laws.
Where Takalam facilitates services on behalf of independent Counsellors, Takalam and the third-party entity that is used for the AI Inputs and Outputs acts as a data processor. Counsellors are responsible for complying with data protection obligations as independent data controllers.
Changes to this Privacy Policy
The User Agreement and this Privacy Policy reflect our subscription models and any changes to terms related to subscription services. The Privacy Policy is reviewed and adjusted periodically. Any changes made to the Privacy Policy will be posted on this page and, where appropriate, may be notified to you by e-mail. It shall be your obligation to regularly check the Privacy Policy for updates. Continued use of the Platform following notice of such changes will indicate your acknowledgment of such changes and agreement to be bound by the terms and conditions of such changes.
Subscription Disclaimer and Acceptance
By subscribing to our services, you agree to the specific terms and conditions associated with the subscription model you choose (monthly or annual). Each subscription model may have different benefits and terms, which will be clearly outlined at the time of subscription. By proceeding with the subscription, you acknowledge and accept these terms.
Contact Us With Any Questions
For any data protection queries, you can contact our Data Protection Officer at dpo@Takalam.ae.
Please call these numbers if this is an emergency: 999 for Police, 998 for Ambulance.
يُرجى الاتصال بالأرقام التالية إذا كان هناك حالة طوارئ: 999 لطلب الشرطة 998 لطلب سيارة إسعاف