This Privacy Policy explains how dotcity ("dotcity", "we", "us") collects, uses, and protects your personal information when you use our website design, build and hosting service (the "Service"). We handle personal data in accordance with the Philippine Data Privacy Act of 2012 (Republic Act No. 10173) and its implementing rules.
1. Information we collect
Information you give us
- Business information you send us — details about your business that we use to build and maintain your website, such as its name, address, map location, contact details, opening hours, prices, photos, and descriptions.
- Communications — messages you send us, e.g. by Messenger, or support or deletion requests.
The free online audit
When you use the free audit on dotcity.ph, we keep the link you give us and the results of the checks we run — on your Google listing, social pages and website. We do not ask for your name, number or email. We keep a one-way scrambled form of your IP address, never the address itself, only to stop the audit being overused. Your report sits at an unguessable address that search engines are told not to index.
Information about businesses we gather ourselves
Before we ever speak to a business, we may record that it exists and how to reach it, from sources that are already public — a business's own Facebook page, its Google Maps entry, or its website. This typically includes the business name, address, phone number, opening hours and the links it publishes. We use it to decide which businesses to approach and to prepare for that conversation. If you would rather we did not hold this, tell us and we will remove it.
We may also build a preview website for a business from what that business already publishes, so its owner can see a real site rather than a description of one. A preview is not announced or advertised: it sits at an unguessable address, is marked so search engines do not index it, and is removed if the business tells us it is not interested.
Information collected automatically
Like most websites, we automatically collect limited technical data such as your IP address, browser type, device information, and pages viewed, together with session cookies needed to keep you signed in.
This website, the free audit on dotcity.ph and the preview websites we build use the Meta Pixel, a tool from Meta (Facebook and Instagram). It tells Meta that your browser visited, so we can show our ads to people who have seen our work. Meta may link this to your Facebook or Instagram account under its own privacy policy. You can turn this off in your Facebook ad settings or by blocking third-party cookies in your browser.
2. How we use your information
- To build, publish and maintain your website, and to prepare a preview of it.
- To contact businesses about the service and to keep a record of those conversations.
- To run the free online audit and show you your report.
- To operate, secure, and improve the Service.
- To respond to your requests and communicate with you about the Service.
- To comply with legal obligations and enforce our Terms of Service.
3. Legal bases
We process your personal data on the bases permitted by the Data Privacy Act, including your consent, the performance of our contract with you (providing the Service), our legitimate interests in operating and securing the Service, and compliance with legal obligations.
4. How we share information
We do not sell your personal information. We share it only with:
- Service providers that host and run the Service on our behalf — for example cloud hosting, database, and transactional email providers — bound to protect your data.
- The public, for the content of your own website once you ask us to publish it — that is what a website is for. We do not publish a directory, and we do not list your business anywhere else.
- Meta, through the Meta Pixel described in Section 1, to show our ads to people who visited our websites.
- Authorities, where required by law or to protect rights, safety, and the integrity of the Service.
- A successor, in connection with a merger, acquisition, or reorganization, subject to this Policy.
5. Cookies
We use strictly necessary cookies to keep you logged in and to remember your display preferences (such as light or dark mode). The Meta Pixel (Section 1) sets an advertising cookie so we can show our ads to people who visited; you can block it in your browser.
6. Data retention
We keep your personal data for as long as your account is active or as needed to provide the Service. When you delete your account, we remove your identifying information as described in Section 8. We may retain limited records where required by law.
7. Your rights
Under the Data Privacy Act, you have the right to:
- be informed about how your data is processed;
- access the personal data we hold about you;
- correct inaccurate or outdated data;
- object to or withdraw consent to processing;
- have your data erased or blocked;
- obtain a copy of your data in a portable format; and
- lodge a complaint with the National Privacy Commission (privacy.gov.ph).
To exercise any of these rights, contact us at jaron@dotcity.ph.
8. Deleting your data
Email us at jaron@dotcity.ph from the address we hold for you and we will delete your personal data within 30 days. We will tell you when it is done.
9. Security
We use reasonable organizational and technical safeguards to protect your data, including encrypted connections (HTTPS) and hashed passwords. No system is completely secure, but we work to protect your information and to notify you and the authorities of a breach where the law requires.
10. International transfers
Our service providers may process data on servers located outside the Philippines. Where that happens, we take steps to ensure your data continues to receive an adequate level of protection.
11. Children
The Service is intended for users aged 18 and over and is not directed to children. We do not knowingly collect personal data from minors.
12. Changes to this Policy
We may update this Policy from time to time. We will revise the "Last updated" date above and, where appropriate, notify you of significant changes.
13. Contact us
For any privacy questions or requests, contact dotcity at jaron@dotcity.ph.