This Privacy Policy explains how Kawat ("Kawat", "we", "us") collects, uses, stores, shares and protects personal information when you use Kawat.
Kawat processes personal data in line with the Data Privacy Act of 2012 (Republic Act No. 10173), its Implementing Rules and Regulations, and issuances of the National Privacy Commission (NPC).
1. Information we collect
Account information
- Username, email address and password (stored only in scrambled, hashed form);
- Mobile number, verified with a one-time code sent by text message, so each person has only one Kawat account;
- If you sign in with Google, Facebook, TikTok or Apple: that service's account ID for you, and the name and email address it shares with us (Apple lets you hide your email). We never receive your password for those services;
- For player accounts: gender, age, height, city and barangay;
- Jersey colour and number, and basketball position.
Basketball information
- Your team, team role and team photos or logo;
- Games you post, join, accept, play or leave;
- Results, ratings, wins and losses, reliability ("shows up"), no-show reports and game statistics recorded by stat keepers;
- Tournament registrations and rosters (including a captain's mobile number given for the tournament);
- Swipe activity (teams you liked, saved or challenged).
Location
If you allow it on your device, Kawat uses your location when you tap "my location" or "Near me", or use Swipe, to show nearby courts, games and teams. You can switch location off in your device settings; Kawat then uses your home barangay instead. When you search for a barangay on the map, the search text is sent to OpenStreetMap to find it.
Messages and content
- Game chats, team chats, private messages and your conversations with Tati;
- Photos you upload (team logo, team photo, scoreboard photos, court photos) and court updates;
- Livestreams you create in the Kawat Studio, and their replays;
- Reports and messages you send to Kawat.
Credits and payments
- Your credit balance and history (purchases, spending, returns and free credits);
- Tournament payments and their status;
- Kawat LIVE viewing time used for billing.
Card, GCash and Maya details are entered on PayMongo's pages, and in-app purchases are handled by Apple or Google. Kawat does not receive or store full card numbers.
Technical information
- IP address (for security and to limit repeated login attempts), device and browser type, app version and error logs;
- Login tokens that keep you signed in, and a push-notification token if you allow notifications;
- Settings kept on your device, such as your chosen theme.
2. How we use information
- Create and manage your account and player profile;
- Show games, teams and courts, and let you post, accept and join games;
- Match you with games and teams (division, gender, distance, rating);
- Keep ratings, results, statistics and leaderboards;
- Organize Tati's Game Nights and tournaments, and release prizes;
- Process credits, payments and refunds;
- Send notifications and emails about your games, teams and account;
- Keep Kawat safe: moderate chats, prevent fraud, cheating, betting and abuse;
- Provide Kawat LIVE streams and replays;
- Provide customer support;
- Show ads and count ad views and taps (counts only, for advertisers);
- Improve Kawat and fix problems; and
- Comply with the law.
3. Tati and automated processing
Tati, Kawat's AI host, automatically checks chat messages, usernames and some other text for insults, scams, betting and other rule breaking, and may hide messages or mute repeat offenders. Tati also answers questions, suggests games, builds challenges, helps settle arguments, reads scoreboard photos and balances Game Night teams. See the Kawat AI Policy.
4. Legal basis
We process personal information when it is needed to provide the service you signed up for (contract), when you consent (for example location and notifications), to comply with legal obligations, and for our legitimate interests such as security, fraud prevention and improving Kawat, as allowed by the Data Privacy Act.
5. Who we share information with
We share personal information only as needed to operate Kawat, with providers that are required to protect it:
- Hosting: Hostinger (web hosting and database);
- AI: Anthropic (Claude), which powers Tati;
- Video and images: Cloudflare (Kawat LIVE streams, replays and photos);
- Payments: PayMongo (GCash, Maya and cards for credits on the website and for tournament entry fees everywhere), Apple App Store and Google Play (credits bought in the apps);
- Text messages: Semaphore (sends the verification code to your mobile number);
- Sign-in: Google, Meta (Facebook), TikTok and Apple, only when you choose to sign in with them;
- Notifications and email: Google Firebase Cloud Messaging (push notifications) and our email provider;
- Maps: OpenStreetMap (map tiles and place search).
Other Kawat users see what you share in Kawat (see sections 6 and 7). Tournament and Game Night organizers see the registration details needed to manage the event. We may disclose information when required by law or to protect people's safety. We do not sell personal information.
6. What other users can see
Your username, jersey, position, gender, age category, height, city and barangay, team, rating, record, reliability and statistics can be seen by other Kawat users. Messages you post in a game chat can be seen by the people in that game; team chat by your teammates; private messages by the person you message. Do not post anything you don't want others to see.
7. Kawat LIVE and recordings
Games streamed on Kawat LIVE can be watched by other users, and the schedule and some broadcast pages can be seen without an account. If you play in a streamed game, your image, voice and gameplay may appear in the stream and its replay. Winning cards and results you choose to share may be posted on social media by you or your team.
8. How long we keep information
We keep personal information only as long as needed for the purposes above: account information while your account is open; game history, results and ratings while your account is open because they form part of other players' records; credit and payment records as long as required for accounting and tax rules; and security logs for a limited time. Finished games leave the map after 7 days but stay in game history. When you delete your account (in the app, in the website's settings, or at delete-account.php), we delete your username, email, mobile number, password, linked sign-ins, home barangay and the messages you sent in direct chats right away, and results of games you already played stay without your name. Records we must keep by law (for example payment records) are kept for the required period.
9. Security
We use reasonable organisational, physical and technical safeguards, including encrypted connections (HTTPS), hashed passwords, encrypted storage of service keys, access limited to authorised staff, and automatic limits on repeated login attempts. No internet system can be 100% secure. If a personal data breach happens that must be reported, we will notify the NPC and affected users as required by law.
10. Your rights
Under the Data Privacy Act you have the right to be informed, to access your personal information, to object, to have it corrected, to have it erased or blocked where applicable, to data portability, to withdraw consent, to claim damages, and to file a complaint with the National Privacy Commission. You can correct most of your details yourself in Me (Profile, Barangay, Password). For other requests, email info@queaytech.com from your registered email address. We may ask you to confirm your identity.
11. Cookies and similar technologies
The website uses a session cookie to keep you logged in and a security token to protect forms, and stores small settings (such as your theme and which chats you have read) in your browser. Kawat does not use advertising cookies that follow you across other websites.
12. Processing outside the Philippines
Some providers (for example our AI, video and cloud providers) process information on servers outside the Philippines. When this happens we apply safeguards required by the Data Privacy Act, such as contractual protections.
13. Kawat is for adults
Kawat accounts are for people 18 and older. We do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 18. If we learn that an account belongs to someone under 18, we close it and delete the related information. See the Kawat Age & Public Broadcast Policy.
14. Changes
We may update this Privacy Policy. The latest version is always on this page, and important changes will be announced in Kawat.
15. Contact: Data Protection Officer
For privacy questions and requests, contact our Data Protection Officer:
Kawat is operated by Queay Information Technology Services
2F BF Building, Alternate Road, Legazpi City, Albay, Philippines 4500
Email: info@queaytech.com
This Privacy Policy should be read together with the Kawat Terms & Conditions.