SeatShareLK values your privacy and is committed to handling personal data responsibly.

This Privacy Policy explains what information SeatShareLK collects, why it is used, who may receive it, how long it may be kept, and the choices and rights available to you when you use the SeatShareLK marketplace or participate in an organization community.

In this Policy, “SeatShareLK”, “we”, “us”, and “our” refer to the operator of the SeatShareLK platform. “Organization” includes a company, educational institution, association, or other group using an organization community on SeatShareLK.

1. Information We Collect

Depending on how you use SeatShareLK, we may collect:

• account and profile information, including your name, email address, telephone number, gender, profile photograph, language, and account roles
• authentication and verification information, including login information, one-time password records, phone-verification status, and any identity or verification information you choose or are required to provide
• driver and vehicle information, including licence, vehicle type, registration information, availability, and relevant verification status
• ride, ride-request, route, booking, pickup, drop-off, date, time, seat, adult-count, child-count, preference, and trip-status information
• ratings, reviews, reports, complaints, support messages, safety reports, and communications sent through or concerning the platform
• notification, travel-interest, district, area, language, accessibility, and communication preferences
• technical and usage information, such as device, browser, IP address, log, cookie, analytics, security, and interaction information
• approximate or route-related location information that you provide; SeatShareLK does not receive your WhatsApp live location merely because you use the platform’s live-location sharing prompt
• organization application and verification information, such as organization name, registration details, business address, contact-person details, authorization letters, agreements, supporting documents, and application-review records
• organization membership information, such as invitation-code use, employee, student, or membership identifiers, membership type and status, administrator status, approval history, and participation in organization rides or requests
• subscription, invoice, or transaction records if SeatShareLK later provides paid platform or organization services; ride cost-sharing payments are currently arranged directly between users and are not processed by SeatShareLK

2. How We Collect Information

We may collect information:

• directly from you when you register, complete your profile, submit documents, post or request a ride, make or manage a booking, join an organization, contact support, or change your preferences
• from other users when they book with you, rate you, report a concern, or otherwise interact with you through SeatShareLK
• from an organization or its authorized administrators when they invite you, review or manage your membership, or administer their community
• automatically through the website, application, cookies, logs, analytics, security tools, and similar technologies
• from service providers or publicly available sources where reasonably necessary to verify information, prevent fraud, protect users, or comply with law

3. Why We Use Information

We may use personal data to:

• create, authenticate, verify, secure, and administer accounts
• operate the marketplace and connect drivers and passengers
• publish and match rides and ride requests, manage bookings, and send relevant alerts and notifications
• enable approved users to join and participate in organization communities
• review organization applications and documents and administer organization services
• allow authorized organization administrators to invite members and approve, reject, suspend, reactivate, or remove organization memberships
• display relevant profile, vehicle, rating, trip, and contact information to users involved in a ride or booking
• provide customer support and communicate service, security, policy, and account updates
• investigate reports, disputes, unsafe behaviour, fraud, abuse, unauthorized access, and violations of our Terms & Conditions
• protect users, the public, SeatShareLK, and the integrity of the platform
• analyse performance, understand platform use, improve features, troubleshoot problems, and develop safer services
• maintain records, establish or defend legal claims, comply with legal obligations, and respond to lawful requests
• send promotional communications where you have consented or where otherwise permitted by applicable law, subject to your communication choices

4. Legal Grounds for Processing

Depending on the circumstances and applicable law, SeatShareLK may process personal data because it is necessary to provide requested platform services or take steps at your request; because you have given consent; because processing is required by law; or because it is necessary for legitimate interests such as platform operation, safety, fraud prevention, support, improvement, and the establishment or defence of legal claims.

Where we rely on consent, you may withdraw it subject to applicable law. Withdrawal does not affect processing already lawfully carried out and may mean that an optional feature can no longer be provided.

5. Information Visible to Other Marketplace Users

Information necessary to assess and coordinate a ride may be shown to other users. This may include your name, profile photograph, gender where relevant to a selected preference, driver or passenger role, vehicle information, ratings, completed-trip information, membership duration, ride or request details, pickup or drop-off information, and applicable preferences.

Contact details may be made available when reasonably necessary for a booking, accepted ride, safety matter, or ride coordination. Do not publish sensitive personal information in ride descriptions, reviews, or other public or shared fields.

Ratings, reviews, and reports must be truthful and relevant. SeatShareLK may review, restrict, or remove content where necessary for safety, fairness, legal compliance, or enforcement of the Terms & Conditions.

6. Organization Communities and Administrators

If you apply to join or participate in an organization community, authorized administrators of that organization may receive information needed to assess and manage your organization membership. This may include your name, contact details, profile information, employee, student, or membership identifier, membership type and status, application date, invitation-code use, and organization-community participation.

Organization administrators may approve, reject, suspend, reactivate, or remove your membership in their community. Removal from an organization community does not by itself delete your general SeatShareLK account.

Administrators may view organization rides, requests, bookings, or related activity only to the extent made available for legitimate community administration, safety, support, or compliance. They must not use member information for unrelated purposes.

Organization application documents, authorization letters, agreements, and other restricted verification documents are intended for access by authorized SeatShareLK reviewers and are not routinely shared with ordinary organization members. SeatShareLK may share relevant documents or information with an authorized organization representative, professional adviser, service provider, regulator, or authority where necessary and lawful.

SeatShareLK and an organization may each process information for their own purposes and responsibilities. An organization’s separate privacy practices may also apply to information it receives or independently collects. Questions about an organization’s independent use of your information should be directed to that organization.

7. Women-Only Preferences and Sensitive Information

Where SeatShareLK offers a women-only or gender-based ride preference, gender information may be used and displayed as reasonably necessary to apply that preference. A preference is a coordination and comfort feature; it is not a guarantee of identity, conduct, eligibility, or safety.

Please do not provide sensitive personal data unless it is reasonably required for a feature, verification, safety report, legal obligation, or support request. Where sensitive personal data is processed, SeatShareLK will seek to apply appropriate safeguards and a lawful basis.

8. Live Location and External Communication

SeatShareLK may prompt a user to share live location through WhatsApp or another external service. Live-location sharing is optional and occurs through the external service selected by the user. Unless expressly stated otherwise in the feature, SeatShareLK does not receive, track, or store that live-location stream.

Information shared through WhatsApp, telephone, email, maps, or another external service is also governed by that service’s privacy terms and the choices of the people involved. Users should share location and contact information only with trusted recipients and stop sharing when it is no longer needed.

9. Service Providers and Other Disclosures

SeatShareLK may disclose personal data where reasonably necessary to:

• hosting, database, authentication, email, SMS, push-notification, analytics, mapping, security, support, document-storage, and other technology providers that help operate the platform
• professional advisers, auditors, insurers, payment or billing providers, and contractors subject to appropriate obligations
• an organization and its authorized administrators as described in this Policy
• another user where necessary for a ride, booking, report, dispute, safety matter, or platform transaction
• law-enforcement bodies, courts, regulators, government authorities, emergency services, or other parties where required by law or reasonably necessary to protect rights, safety, users, the public, or platform integrity
• a buyer, investor, successor, or adviser in connection with a proposed or completed reorganization, financing, merger, sale, or transfer of all or part of the platform, subject to appropriate safeguards

SeatShareLK does not sell personal data to third parties.

Service providers are permitted to process information only for the services they provide to SeatShareLK or as otherwise permitted by applicable law.

10. Cookies and Analytics

SeatShareLK may use essential cookies and similar technologies to keep the platform secure, remember settings, maintain sessions, and provide requested functions. We may also use analytics technologies to understand traffic, performance, and feature use.

Where required, optional cookies or similar technologies will be used according to your choices. You may also control certain cookies through your browser or device settings, although disabling essential technologies may prevent parts of the platform from working correctly.

11. International Data Processing

Some service providers may store or process personal data outside Sri Lanka. Where personal data is transferred or made accessible across borders, SeatShareLK will seek to use measures required by applicable law and appropriate to the nature and risk of the processing.

The privacy and data-protection laws of another country may differ from those of Sri Lanka. SeatShareLK will assess and manage cross-border processing as its legal obligations and technical arrangements require.

12. Data Retention

SeatShareLK retains personal data only for as long as reasonably necessary for the purposes described in this Policy, including providing the service, maintaining account and transaction history, safety, fraud prevention, dispute resolution, enforcement, backups, legal compliance, and the establishment or defence of claims.

Retention periods vary according to the type of information, the status of the account or organization relationship, the sensitivity and risk of the data, operational requirements, and legal obligations. Information may be deleted, anonymized, or securely isolated when it is no longer required.

Closing an account or leaving an organization does not necessarily result in immediate deletion of every record. SeatShareLK may retain limited information where reasonably necessary for the purposes stated above.

13. Data Security

SeatShareLK uses reasonable technical and organizational measures intended to protect personal data against unauthorized or accidental access, loss, misuse, alteration, or disclosure. Access is intended to be limited according to role and operational need.

No online service, transmission, or storage system can guarantee complete security. You are responsible for protecting your login credentials, one-time passwords, devices, and account access and for promptly notifying SeatShareLK of suspected unauthorized use.

14. Your Choices and Rights

Subject to applicable law and any lawful exceptions, you may be entitled to:

• ask whether SeatShareLK processes your personal data and request access to it
• request correction or completion of inaccurate or incomplete personal data
• request erasure of personal data in qualifying circumstances
• withdraw consent where processing is based on consent
• object to or request that certain processing be stopped in qualifying circumstances
• ask for review of a qualifying decision based solely on automated processing
• change notification, travel-interest, push, email, or other account preferences
• appeal or complain to the Data Protection Authority of Sri Lanka where that right is available

To protect users, SeatShareLK may need to verify your identity and clarify the scope of a request before responding. Requests will be handled within the period required by applicable law. Some rights are not absolute, and SeatShareLK may retain or continue processing information where a lawful exception applies.

You may manage available settings within your account or contact SeatShareLK using the details below. You may also request account closure; organization administrators can remove organization membership but cannot use that action alone to delete your general SeatShareLK account.

15. Children and Adult Account Holders

SeatShareLK accounts and use of the marketplace as an account holder are intended only for persons aged 18 years or older. SeatShareLK does not knowingly permit a person under 18 to create or independently operate a SeatShareLK account.

A person under 18 may travel as a passenger where the platform permits this and where the booking is made and managed by an adult account holder in accordance with the Terms & Conditions. A child under 12 cannot be booked to travel alone and must be included in a booking with at least one accompanying adult aged 18 or over travelling on the same journey.

For booking and seat-contribution purposes, SeatShareLK may record the number of adults and the number of children included in a booking. The platform does not require a separate SeatShareLK account for the child and does not require the child's name, email address, telephone number, date of birth, or separate profile merely because an adult includes the child in a booking.

The under-12 classification is used for the platform's child booking and contribution feature. A passenger aged 12 or over is treated as an adult for that booking calculation only; this does not mean SeatShareLK is determining that the passenger is a legal adult.

The adult account holder making or managing the booking is responsible for the information supplied about the booking and for complying with the platform's rules concerning children. Users should not enter unnecessary personal information about a child in ride notes, booking messages, reviews, reports, or other shared fields.

If personal information concerning a person under 18 is provided through a safety report, support request, complaint, legal matter, or another necessary interaction, SeatShareLK may process that information where reasonably necessary for safety, support, legal compliance, dispute handling, or the protection of users and the platform.

If you believe that a person under 18 has created or independently used a SeatShareLK account, or that SeatShareLK has received a child's personal data in circumstances inconsistent with this Policy, please contact us so that appropriate action can be considered.

16. Changes to This Policy

SeatShareLK may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. The updated version will be published with a revised effective date. Where a change materially affects how personal data is processed, SeatShareLK will provide appropriate notice and seek consent where required by applicable law.

17. Contact and Complaints

For privacy questions, requests, account-closure requests, or complaints, contact SeatShareLK at seatsharelk@gmail.com or visit https://www.seatshare.lk.

Where applicable, you may also contact or appeal to the Data Protection Authority of Sri Lanka. Information about the Authority is available at https://www.dpa.gov.lk.