Who we are
Our mission is to connect the world privately by designing a product that’s simple and private. Whether you are sending a personal message to your friends or family, or texting with a business, your communications are secure and you are in control.
Introduction
When you use Legist, you trust us with your personal data. We’re committed to keeping that trust. That starts with helping you understand our privacy practices.
This notice describes the personal data we collect, how it’s used and shared, and your choices regarding this data. We recommend that you read this along with our privacy overview, which highlights key points about our privacy practices.
Last modified: May 24, 2021
Effective date: May 24, 2021
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Overview
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Scope
This notice applies to users of Legist’s services anywhere in the world, including users of Legist’s apps, websites, features, or other services.
This notice describes how Legist and its affiliates collect and use personal data. This notice applies to all users of our apps, websites, features or other services anywhere in the world, unless covered by a separate privacy notice, This notice specifically applies to:
Clients: Individuals searching for legal advice or answers to their legal questions.
Advocates: Individuals who answer questions may include lawyers, law-students or anyone knowledgeable about the law
All those subject to this notice are referred to as ‘users’ in this notice.
In addition, please note the following:
- Data controller and transfer
Legist LLC. is the data controller for the personal data collected in connection with use of Legist’s services anywhere else.
Legist operates, and processes data, globally. We may also transfer data to countries other than the one where our users live or use Legist’s services. We do so in order to fulfill our agreements with users, such as our Terms of Use, or based on users’ prior consent, adequacy decisions for the relevant countries, or other transfer mechanisms as may be available under applicable law, such as the Standard Contractual Clauses.
Questions, comments, and complaints about Legist’s data practices can be submitted here. Legist – CONTACT US (legisst.com) You may also use this form to submit a question to Legist’s Data Protection Officer.
III. Data collections and uses
- The data we collect
Legist collects:
Data provided by users to Legist, such as during account creation
Data created during use of our services, such as location, app usage, and device data
Data from other sources, such as Legist partners and third parties that use Legist APIs
The following data is collected by or on behalf of Legist:
1- Data provided by users. This includes:
User profile: We collect data when users create or update their Legist accounts. This may include their name, email, phone number, login name and password, address, profile picture, and other government identification documents (which may indicate document numbers as well as birth date, gender, and photo).
We may use the photos submitted by users to verify their identities, such as through facial recognition technologies.
Demographic data: We may collect demographic data about users, including through user surveys. In some countries, we may also receive demographic data about users from third parties.
User content: We collect the information users submit when they contact Legist customer support, provide ratings or compliments for other users or otherwise contact Legist. This may include feedback, photographs or other recordings collected by users.
2- Data created during use of our services. This includes:
Location data (client and advocate: Legist collects this data when the Legist app is running in the foreground (app open and on-screen) or background (app open but not on-screen) of their mobile device.
Transaction information: We collect transaction information related to the use of our services, including the type of services requested or provided. Additionally, if someone uses your promotion code, we may associate your name with that person.
Usage data: We collect data about how users interact with our services. This includes data such as access dates and times, app features or pages viewed, app crashes and other system activity, type of browser, and third-party sites or services used before interacting with our services. In some cases, we collect this data through cookies, pixels, tags, and similar tracking technologies that create and maintain unique identifiers. To learn more about these technologies, please see our Cookie Notice.
Device data: We may collect data about the devices used to access our services, including the hardware models, device IP address, operating systems and versions, software, preferred languages, unique device identifiers, advertising identifiers, serial numbers, device motion data, and mobile network data.
Communications data: We enable users to communicate with each other and Legist through Legist’s mobile app. For example, we enable clients and advocates to call, text, or send each other files to each other (generally without disclosing their telephone numbers to each other). To provide this service, Legist receives some data regarding the calls, texts, or other communications, including the date and time of the communications and the content of the communications. Legist may also use this data for customer support services (including to resolve disputes between users), for safety and security purposes, to improve our products and services, and for analytics.
Audio recordings: In certain jurisdictions, and where permitted by law, users can record the audio of their calls through an in-app feature. Recordings are encrypted and stored on users’ devices, and are only shared with Legist if submitted to customer support by the users in connection with safety incidents. Please see here for more information.
3- Data from other sources. This includes:
User feedback, such as ratings, feedback, or compliments. Legist account owners who request services for or on behalf of other users, or who enable such users to request or receive services through their accounts. Users or others providing information in connection with claims or disputes. Legist business partners through which users create or access their Legist account, such as social media services, or apps or websites that use Legist APIs or whose APIs Legist uses.
Vendors who help us verify users’ identity, background information, and eligibility to work, for regulatory, safety, and security purposes.
Publicly available sources. Marketing service providers. Legist may combine the data collected from these sources with other data in its possession.
- How we use personal data
Legist collects and uses data to enable reliable and convenient conversations, and other products and services. We also use the data we collect:
To enhance the safety and security of our users and services
For customer support
For research and development
To enable communications between users
To send marketing and non-marketing communications to users
In connection with legal proceedings
Legist does not sell or share user personal data with third parties for their direct marketing, except with users’ consent.
Legist uses the data it collects for purposes including:
1- Providing services and features. Legist uses the data we collect to provide, personalize, maintain, and improve our products and services.
This includes using the data to:
Create and update users’ accounts.
Verify clients’ and legal advocates’’ identity, background history.
Offer, process, or facilitate payments for our services.
Enable features that allow users to share information with other people, such as when clients submit a compliment about an advocate, refer a friend to Legist, and location with their contacts.
Enable features to personalize users’ Legist accounts, such as creating bookmarks for favorite legal advocates, and to enable quick access to previously answered questions. We may, for example, present a user with personalized legal recommendations based on their prior questions. Please see the section of this notice titled “Choice and transparency” to learn how to object to this use of personal data.
Enable Accessibility features that make it easier for users with disabilities to use our services, such as those that enable deaf or hard-of-hearing users to use the app much more efficiently i.e enable receipt of flashing answer notifications instead of sound notifications on their mobile device.
Perform internal operations necessary to provide our services, including to troubleshoot software bugs and operational problems; to conduct data analysis, testing, and research; and to monitor and analyze usage and activity trends.
2- Safety and security. We use personal data to help maintain the safety, security, and integrity of our services and users. This includes:
Using user ratings and feedback to encourage compliance with our Community Guidelines and as grounds for deactivating clients and legal advocates who violated such guidelines.
3- Customer support. Legist uses the information we collect (including recordings of customer support calls with notice to and the consent of the user) to provide customer support, including to:
Direct questions to the appropriate customer support person
Investigate and address user concerns
Monitor and improve our customer support responses and processes
4- Research and development. We may use the data we collect for testing, research, analysis, product development, and machine learning to improve the user experience. This helps us to improve and enhance the safety and security of our services, improve our ability to prevent the use of our services for illegal or improper purposes, develop new features and products, and facilitate insurance and finance solutions in connection with our services.
5- Enabling communications between users.
6- Marketing. Legist may use the data we collect to market our services to our users. This includes sending users communications about Legist services, features, promotions, sweepstakes, studies, surveys, news, updates, and events.
We may also send communications to our users about products and services offered by Legist partners. Although we may send users communications about Legist partners’ products and services, we do not sell users’ personal data to, or share it with, such partners or others for purposes of their own direct marketing or advertising, except with users’ consent.
We may use the data we collect to personalize the marketing communications (including advertisements) that we send, including based on user location, past use of Legist’s services, and user preferences and settings.
We may also send users communications regarding elections, ballots, referenda, and other political and notice processes that relate to our services. For example, Legist has notified some users by email of ballot measures or pending legislation relating to the availability of Legist’s services in those users’ areas.
7- Non-marketing communications. Legist may use the data we collect to generate and provide users with receipts; inform them of changes to our terms, services, or policies; or send other communications that aren’t for the purpose of marketing the services or products of Legist or its partners.
8- Legal proceedings and requirements. We may use the personal data we collect to investigate or address claims or disputes relating to use of Legist’s services, or as otherwise allowed by applicable law, or as requested by regulators, government entities, and official inquiries.
9- Automated decision-making
We use personal data to make automated decisions relating to use of our services. This includes:
Deactivating users who are identified as having engaged in fraud or activities that may otherwise harm Legist, its users, and others. In some cases, such as when a user is determined to be abusing Legist’s policy, such behavior may result in automatic deactivation. To object to a deactivation resulting from these processes, please contact Legist customer support.
Cookies and third-party technologies
Legist and its partners use cookies and other identification technologies on our apps, websites, emails, and online ads for purposes described in this notice.
Cookies are small text files that are stored on browsers or devices by websites, apps, online media, and advertisements. Legist uses cookies and similar technologies for purposes such as:
Authenticating users
Remembering user preferences and settings
Determining the popularity of content
Delivering and measuring the effectiveness of advertising campaigns
Analyzing site traffic and trends, and generally understanding the online behaviors and interests of people who interact with our services
We may also allow others to provide audience measurement and analytics services for us, to serve advertisements on our behalf across the Internet, and to track and report on the performance of those advertisements. These entities may use cookies, web beacons, SDKs, and other technologies to identify the devices used by visitors to our websites, as well as when they visit other online sites and services.
- Data sharing and disclosure
Some of Legist’s products, services, and features require that we share data with other users or at a user’s request. We may also share data with our affiliates, subsidiaries, and partners, for legal reasons or in connection with claims or disputes.
Legist may share the data we collect:
1- With other users
This includes sharing:
2- At the user’s request
This includes sharing data with:
Legist business partners. For example, if a user requests a service through a partnership or promotional offering made by a third party, Legist may share certain data with those third parties. This may include, for example, other services, platforms, apps, or websites that integrate with our APIs; those with an API or service with which we integrate; or other Legist business partners and their users in connection with promotions, contests, or specialized services.
3- With the general public
Questions or comments from users submitted through public forums such as Legist blogs and Legist social media pages may be viewable by the public, including any personal data included in the questions or comments submitted by a user.
4- With the Legist account owner
If a user requests an answer to a question using an account owned by another party, we may share their questions and real-time location data with the owner of that account.
5- With Legist subsidiaries and affiliates
We share data with our subsidiaries and affiliates to help us provide our services or conduct data processing on our behalf. For example, Legist processes and stores data in the United States on behalf of its international subsidiaries and affiliates.
6- With Legist service providers and business partners
Legist provides data to vendors, consultants, marketing partners, research firms, and other service providers or business partners. These include:
Background check and identity verification providers (clients and advocates only)
Cloud storage providers
Google, in connection with the use of Google Maps in Legist’s app (see Google’s privacy policy for information on their collection and use of data)
Facebook, in connection with the use of the Facebook Business Tools in Legist’s apps and websites (see Facebook’s privacy policy for information on their collection and use of data)
Marketing partners and marketing platform providers, including social media advertising services
Data analytics providers
Research partners, including those performing surveys or research projects in partnership with Legist or on Legist’s behalf Vendors that assist Legist to enhance the safety and security of its apps
Consultants, lawyers, accountants, and other professional service providers
Insurance and financing partners
7- For legal reasons or in the event of a dispute
Legist may share users’ personal data if we believe it’s required by applicable law, regulation, operating license or agreement, legal process or governmental request, or where the disclosure is otherwise appropriate due to safety or similar concerns.
This includes sharing personal data with law enforcement officials, public health officials, other government authorities, airports (if required by the airport authorities as a condition of operating on airport property), or other third parties as necessary to enforce our Terms of Service, user agreements, or other policies; to protect Legist’s rights or property or the rights, safety, or property of others; or in the event of a claim or dispute relating to the use of our services.
This also includes sharing personal data with others in connection with, or during negotiations of, any merger, sale of company assets, consolidation or restructuring, financing, or acquisition of all or a portion of our business by or into another company.
8- With consent
Legist may share a user’s personal data other than as described in this notice if we notify the user and they consent to the sharing.
- Data retention and deletion
Legist retains user data for as long as necessary for the purposes described above.
Users may request deletion of their accounts at any time. Legist may retain user data after a deletion request due to legal or regulatory requirements or for the reasons stated in this policy.
Legist retains user data for as long as necessary for the purposes described above. This means that we retain different categories of data for different periods of time depending on the category of user to whom the data relates, the type of data, and the purposes for which we collected the data.
Users may request deletion of their account at any time through the Settings > Privacy menus in the Legist app.
Following an account deletion request, Legist deletes the user’s account and data, unless they must be retained due to legal or regulatory requirements, for purposes of safety, security, and fraud prevention, or because of an issue relating to the user’s account such as an outstanding credit or an unresolved claim or dispute. Because we are subject to legal and regulatory requirements relating to legal advocates, this generally means that we retain their account and data for a minimum of 3 years after a deletion request. For clients, their data is generally deleted within 90 days of a deletion request, except where retention is necessary for the above reasons.
- Grounds for processing
We only collect and use personal data where we have lawful grounds to do so. These include processing user personal data to provide requested services and features, for purposes of Legist’s legitimate interests or those of other parties, to fulfill our legal obligations, or based on consent.
We collect and use personal data only where we have one or more lawful grounds for doing so. Such grounds may vary depending on where our users are located, but generally include processing personal data:
A- To provide requested services and features
In order to provide our services, we must collect and use certain personal data. This includes:
User profile data, which we use to establish and maintain user accounts; verify user identity; communicate with users about their questions and answer their questions.
Client and advocate location data, which we use to assist with the verifying of certain information e.g(state or local laws)
Usage data, which is necessary to maintain, optimize, and enhance Legist’s services.
Transaction information
Information relating to customer support
B- For purposes of the legitimate interests of Legist or other parties
This includes using personal data to maintain and enhance our users’ safety and security. For example, we use personal data to prevent use of our services by users who have engaged in inappropriate or dangerous behavior, such as by retaining data of banned users to prevent their use of Legist’s apps.
This also includes purposes such as combating fraud; improving our services, direct marketing, research, and development; and enforcing Legist’s Terms of Service.
In addition, it includes using personal data to the extent necessary for the interests of other people or the general public, such as in connection with legal or insurance claims, and to protect the rights and safety of others.
C- To fulfill Legist’s legal obligations
For example, Legist is subject to laws and regulations in many cities and countries that require it to collect and retain data about our users’ trips and deliveries, and to provide copies of such data to the government or other authorities. We collect and use personal data to comply with such laws.
Legist may also share data with law enforcement regarding criminal acts or threats to public safety, or requests by third parties pursuant to legal processes. Legist may also share information with public health authorities where required or permitted by law. For more information about such sharing, please see Legist’s Guidelines for Law Enforcement Authorities – United States, Guidelines for Law Enforcement Authorities – Outside the US, and Guidelines for Third Party Data Requests and Service of Legal Documents.
D- With consent
Legist may collect and use personal data based on the user’s consent. For example, we may collect personal data through voluntary surveys. Responses to such surveys are collected on the basis of consent and will be deleted once no longer necessary for the purposes collected.
A user who has provided consent to a collection or use of their personal data can revoke it at any time. However, the user will not be able to use any service or feature that requires collection or use of that personal data.
- Choice and transparency
Legist enables users to access and control the data that Legist collects, including through:
In-app settings
Device permissions
In-app ratings pages
Marketing opt-outs
Legist also enables users to request access to or copies of their data, changes or updates to their accounts, deletion of their accounts, or that Legist restricts its processing of user personal data.
A- Privacy settings
Settings menus in the Legist app gives users the ability to set or update their location-sharing preferences and their preferences for receiving mobile notifications from Legist. Information about these settings, how to set or change these settings, and the effect of turning off these settings is described below.
Location data
Legist uses client’s device location services to make it easier to get access to a legal advocate. whenever they need one. Location data helps improve our services, including finding legal advocates and customer support.
Users may enable or disable Legist to collect location data from their mobile devices through the Settings > Privacy menus in the Legist app. Users can enable or disable such collections through the settings on their mobile device.
Share Live Location (Clients)
Clients who have enabled Legist to collect location data from their mobile device may also enable Legist to share their location with a legal advocate from the time when a question is asked. This can help improve the accuracy of the legal advocates’ answers, particularly in state specific cases.
Clients may enable or disable this feature through the Settings > Privacy menus in the Legist app.
Notifications: account and question updates
Legist provides users with question status notifications and updates related to activity on their account. These notifications are a necessary part of using the Legist app and cannot be disabled. However, users may choose the method by which they receive these notifications through the Settings > Privacy menus in the Legist app.
Notifications: news
Users may enable Legist to send push notifications about news from Legist. Push notifications may be enabled or disabled through the Settings > Privacy menus in the Legist app.
B- Device permissions
Most mobile device platforms (iOS, Android, etc.) have defined certain types of device data that apps cannot access without the device owner’s permission, and these platforms have different methods for how that permission can be obtained. iOS devices notify users the first time the Legist app requests permission to access certain types of data and gives users the option to grant or refuse permission. Android devices notify users of the permissions that the Legist app seeks before their first use of the app, and use of the app constitutes a grant of such permission.
C- Ratings look-up
After every question is answered, clients are able to rate legal advocates on a scale from 1 to 5. An average of those ratings is associated with a user’s account and is displayed to other users for whom they provide or receive services. For example, advocates’ ratings are available to their clients
This system was created to enhance accountability. Accountability helps create a respectful, safe environment for both clients and advocates.
Advocates can see their average rating after tapping their profile photo in the Legist app.
D- Marketing opt-outs
Users may opt out of receiving promotional emails from Legist here. Users may also opt out of receiving emails and other messages from Legist by following the unsubscribe instructions in those messages. We may still send users who have opted out, non-promotional communications, such as receipts for questions answered or information about their account.
E- User data requests
Legist provides users with a variety of ways to learn about, control, and submit questions and comments about Legist’s handling of their data. To make a request, please go here.
Accessing data: Users can ask for an explanation of the data we collect from them and how we use it.
Receiving data: Users can ask for a copy of data that Legist collects from them with their consent or as necessary to provide our services.
Changing or updating data: Users can edit the name, phone number, email address, payment method, and photo associated with their account through the Settings menu in Legist’s app. They may also ask that Legist change or update their data, including if they believe such data is inaccurate or incomplete.
Deleting data: Users may request deletion of their account at any time through the Settings > Privacy menus in the Legist app, or through Legist’s website
Objections, restrictions, and complaints: Users may request that we stop using all or some of their personal data, or that we limit our use of their data. Legist may continue to process data after such objection or request to the extent required or permitted by law.
In addition, depending on their location, users may have the right to file a complaint relating to Legist’s handling of their personal data with the data protection authority in their country.
- Updates to this notice
We may occasionally update this notice. Use of our services after an update constitutes consent to the updated notice to the extent permitted by law.
We may occasionally update this notice. If we make significant changes, we will notify users in advance of the changes through the Legist apps or through other means, such as email. We encourage users to periodically review this notice for the latest information on our privacy practices.
After such notice, use of our services by users in countries outside the United States will be understood as consent to the updates to the extent permitted by law.