Privacy Policy

Last updated: March 14, 2026

This Privacy Policy ("Policy") describes how Socious Global Inc. and its affiliates ("Socious," "we," "us," or "our") collect, use, disclose, and otherwise process personal information in connection with the Socious Fund platform at www.socious.org and fund.socious.org (collectively, the "Platform"), and your rights and choices regarding such information. By accessing or using the Platform, you acknowledge that you have read, understood, and agree to be bound by this Policy.

1. Information We Collect

1.1 Information You Provide

  • Account Information: Name, email address, password, and profile details when you create an account.
  • Identity Verification (KYC/KYB): Government-issued identification documents, photographs, proof of address, date of birth, nationality, and corporate registration documents. This information is collected by our third-party identity verification providers and shared with us as necessary to verify your identity and comply with applicable laws.
  • Financial Information: Payment method details, donation amounts, contribution history, and transaction records. We do not directly store full payment card numbers; payment processing is handled by third-party processors.
  • Communications: Information you provide when contacting us, submitting support requests, or participating in surveys or feedback.
  • Project Information: If you submit a project for funding, we collect project descriptions, milestones, deliverables, team member information, organizational details, and any documentation you provide.
  • Voting Data: Records of your voting activity, including which projects you vote for, donation amounts associated with votes, and timestamps.

1.2 Information Collected Automatically

  • Device and Usage Data: IP address, browser type and version, operating system, device identifiers, referring URLs, pages viewed, time spent on pages, click patterns, and other interaction data.
  • Cookies and Similar Technologies: We use cookies, web beacons, pixels, and similar technologies to collect information about your interactions with the Platform. See Section 7 (Cookies) for details.
  • Log Data: Server logs that record requests made to the Platform, including timestamps, request parameters, and error information.

1.3 Information from Third Parties

  • Identity Verification Providers: Results of KYC/KYB checks, including verification status, risk scores, and watchlist screening results.
  • Payment Processors: Transaction confirmations, payment status, and fraud screening results.
  • Public Sources: Publicly available information relevant to project verification or compliance purposes.

2. How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect for the following purposes:

  • Platform Operations: To operate, maintain, and improve the Platform, process contributions and donations, execute quadratic funding calculations, and distribute funds.
  • Identity Verification: To verify user and project identities, prevent fraud, and comply with anti-money laundering (AML) and know-your-customer (KYC) regulations.
  • Impact Scoring: To calculate Impact Scores used in the Extended Quadratic Funding model, which may incorporate your verified contribution history, voting activity, and engagement data.
  • Tax Compliance: To issue tax receipts, prepare required tax filings, and comply with reporting obligations through our 501(c)(3) fiscal sponsor.
  • Communications: To send transactional notifications (contribution confirmations, project updates, milestone reports), and, where permitted, marketing communications about Socious Fund activities.
  • Security and Fraud Prevention: To detect, investigate, and prevent fraudulent, unauthorized, or illegal activity, including Sybil attacks, collusion, and manipulation of the quadratic funding mechanism.
  • Legal Compliance: To comply with applicable laws, regulations, legal processes, and governmental requests.
  • Analytics and Improvement: To analyze usage patterns, measure the effectiveness of the Platform, and develop new features and services.
  • Aggregated Reporting: To produce aggregated, de-identified impact reports, funding round summaries, and statistical analyses that may be shared publicly or with matching pool contributors.

3. How We Share Your Information

We may share your personal information with the following categories of recipients:

  • Fiscal Sponsor: We share contributor information with our 501(c)(3) fiscal sponsor as necessary for tax receipt issuance, regulatory compliance, and fund administration.
  • Identity Verification Providers: KYC/KYB documentation is shared with our verification service providers for identity verification and compliance screening.
  • Payment Processors: Financial information is shared with payment processors to facilitate transactions.
  • Project Owners: Limited contributor information may be shared with funded projects as necessary for impact reporting and milestone verification. We do not share your identity with project owners without your consent unless required by law.
  • Service Providers: We engage third-party service providers for hosting, analytics, email delivery, customer support, and other operational functions. These providers process data on our behalf under contractual obligations to protect your information.
  • Legal and Regulatory: We may disclose information to law enforcement, government authorities, or other third parties when required by law, subpoena, court order, or other legal process, or when we believe in good faith that disclosure is necessary to protect our rights, your safety, or the safety of others, investigate fraud, or respond to a government request.
  • Business Transfers: In the event of a merger, acquisition, reorganization, bankruptcy, or sale of all or a portion of our assets, your information may be transferred as part of that transaction.
  • With Your Consent: We may share your information for other purposes with your explicit consent.

3.1 Public Information

Certain information is made publicly available by design, including: project descriptions and milestones, aggregated voting results, funding round outcomes, and impact reports. Contributions to the matching pool may be disclosed in aggregate form. If you submit a project, your project information (including organization name, project description, milestones, and progress updates) will be publicly visible.

4. International Data Transfers

Socious Global Inc. is incorporated in the United States. The Platform operates globally and your information may be transferred to, stored in, and processed in the United States, Japan, or other countries where we or our service providers maintain facilities. These countries may have data protection laws that differ from those in your jurisdiction. By using the Platform, you consent to the transfer of your information to these countries. Where required by applicable law, we implement appropriate safeguards for cross-border data transfers, including Standard Contractual Clauses or other legally recognized transfer mechanisms.

5. Data Retention

We retain your personal information for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes described in this Policy, unless a longer retention period is required or permitted by law. Specifically:

  • Account Data: Retained for the duration of your account and for a reasonable period thereafter to comply with legal obligations and resolve disputes.
  • KYC/KYB Records: Retained for a minimum of five (5) years after the end of the business relationship, or longer as required by applicable anti-money laundering laws.
  • Financial and Tax Records: Retained for a minimum of seven (7) years as required by tax and financial reporting regulations.
  • Voting and Contribution Records: Retained indefinitely for the integrity of the quadratic funding mechanism and historical auditability of funding rounds.
  • Communications: Retained for up to three (3) years unless a longer period is required for legal or regulatory reasons.

When personal information is no longer needed, we will securely delete or de-identify it in accordance with our data retention procedures.

6. Your Rights and Choices

Depending on your jurisdiction, you may have certain rights regarding your personal information:

  • Access: Request a copy of the personal information we hold about you.
  • Correction: Request correction of inaccurate or incomplete personal information.
  • Deletion: Request deletion of your personal information, subject to legal retention requirements. Please note that we may be unable to delete information required for regulatory compliance, ongoing legal obligations, or the integrity of completed funding rounds.
  • Objection/Restriction: Object to or request restriction of certain processing activities.
  • Data Portability: Request a portable copy of your personal information in a structured, machine-readable format.
  • Withdraw Consent: Where processing is based on consent, you may withdraw consent at any time. Withdrawal does not affect the lawfulness of processing conducted prior to withdrawal.
  • Marketing Opt-Out: You may opt out of marketing communications at any time by clicking the unsubscribe link in our emails or contacting us directly.

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at privacy@socious.io. We will respond to verified requests within the timeframes required by applicable law. We may request additional information to verify your identity before processing your request. In certain circumstances, we may decline requests where permitted by law, such as where fulfilling the request would adversely affect the rights of others or where we are legally required to retain the information.

6.1 California Residents (CCPA/CPRA)

If you are a California resident, you have additional rights under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and the California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA), including the right to know what personal information we collect, the right to delete, the right to opt out of the sale or sharing of personal information, and the right to non-discrimination. We do not sell your personal information. To exercise your rights, contact us at privacy@socious.io.

6.2 European Economic Area, United Kingdom, and Switzerland (GDPR)

If you are located in the EEA, UK, or Switzerland, our legal bases for processing your personal information include: performance of a contract, compliance with legal obligations, our legitimate interests (including fraud prevention, platform security, and improvement), and your consent where applicable. You have the right to lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority.

6.3 Japan (APPI)

If you are located in Japan, we process your personal information in accordance with the Act on the Protection of Personal Information (APPI). We will obtain your consent for the collection and use of sensitive personal information and for cross-border data transfers as required by law.

7. Cookies and Tracking Technologies

We use the following types of cookies and similar technologies:

  • Essential Cookies: Required for the Platform to function, including authentication and security cookies. These cannot be disabled.
  • Analytics Cookies: Help us understand how visitors interact with the Platform, which pages are most popular, and how users navigate the site.
  • Functional Cookies: Remember your preferences and settings, such as language selection.

You can manage cookie preferences through your browser settings. Disabling certain cookies may affect Platform functionality.

8. Data Security

We implement commercially reasonable technical and organizational security measures designed to protect personal information against unauthorized access, alteration, disclosure, or destruction. These include encryption in transit and at rest, access controls, regular security assessments, and incident response procedures. However, no method of transmission over the internet or electronic storage is completely secure. We cannot guarantee absolute security of your information, and you transmit information to us at your own risk.

9. Children's Privacy

The Platform is not directed to individuals under the age of 18. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 18. If we learn that we have collected personal information from a child under 18, we will take steps to delete such information promptly. If you believe a child under 18 has provided us with personal information, please contact us at privacy@socious.io.

10. Third-Party Links

The Platform may contain links to third-party websites and services, including our fiscal sponsor, partner organizations, and funded projects. This Policy does not apply to those third-party services. We encourage you to review the privacy policies of any third-party services you access.

11. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Policy from time to time. We will notify you of material changes by posting the updated Policy on the Platform with a revised "Last updated" date. In some cases, we may provide additional notice, such as by email. Your continued use of the Platform after any changes constitutes your acceptance of the updated Policy. We encourage you to review this Policy periodically.

12. Contact Us

If you have questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or our data practices, please contact us at:

Socious Global Inc.
Email: privacy@socious.io
Website: socious.io