Zim-Korea Hub ("we", "our", or "us") is a community platform for Zimbabweans living in South Korea. This Privacy Policy explains what personal information we collect, how we use it, who we share it with, and the rights you have over your information. By using our services, you agree to the practices described below.
1. Information We Collect
a. Information you provide when registering
- Full name
- Email address
- Phone number and WhatsApp number (optional)
- City, province, and address in South Korea (optional)
- Member type — whether you currently live in Korea, are an alumnus who has left Korea, or a friend of the community
- Visa type, occupation, employer, and date of arrival in Korea (optional)
- For alumni: current country of residence and date of departure from Korea (optional)
- Emergency contact name and phone number (optional)
b. Information from Google Sign-In
If you choose to sign in with your Google account, Google shares a limited amount of profile information with us. Specifically, we request and receive:
- Your Google account email address
- Your name as it appears on your Google profile
- Your Google profile picture (if available)
- Your Google account unique identifier (sub)
We request only the openid, email, and profile scopes. We do not request access to your Gmail, Google Drive, Google Calendar, contacts, or any other Google service data.
c. Information collected automatically
- Basic device and browser information (user agent, language)
- IP address and approximate location for security and abuse prevention
- Authentication session cookies
2. How We Use Your Information
We use your information only for the following community purposes:
- To create and maintain your member profile
- To authenticate you when you sign in
- To send automated account emails — including a welcome email when you register and a one-time reminder if you leave your profile incomplete
- To send official community communications — consular visits, passport renewals, immigration updates, welfare notices, and community events — via email, and in future via SMS or WhatsApp
- To notify you by email if you are drawn as a winner in a community raffle
- To keep an internal record of which members received which community messages, so we can avoid duplicate sends and respond to delivery issues
- To coordinate emergency welfare checks within the Zimbabwean community in Korea
- To produce aggregate statistics (e.g. total members) for community reporting
- To protect the platform from fraud, abuse, and unauthorised access
- To comply with legal obligations where applicable
3. How We Use Google User Data
Information we receive from Google Sign-In is used only to:
- Authenticate you and log you into Zim-Korea Hub
- Pre-fill and link your member profile (your name, email, and profile picture)
- Recognise returning users across sessions
We do not sell Google user data, use it for advertising, or transfer it to third parties other than as described in Section 5. Our use and transfer of information received from Google APIs adheres to the Google API Services User Data Policy, including the Limited Use requirements.
4. How We Store Your Data
- Your data is stored in an encrypted PostgreSQL database hosted on reputable cloud infrastructure.
- All traffic between your browser and our servers is protected by HTTPS (TLS).
- Administrative access is restricted to authorised committee members and protected by hashed passwords.
- We retain your data for as long as your membership is active, and delete or anonymise it within a reasonable period after you request deletion or after prolonged inactivity.
5. Who We Share Data With
We do not sell your personal information. We share limited information only with:
- Authorised committee members — for community coordination, welfare, and communication. Authorised committee members can also export the member list to a CSV file for these purposes.
- Service providers that help us operate the platform, including our hosting provider (Vercel), our PostgreSQL database host, our email delivery service (Resend), and our object storage provider (Cloudflare R2), where uploaded photos are kept. If we later introduce SMS or WhatsApp broadcasting, we will use reputable providers bound by the same confidentiality and data-protection obligations. All providers act only on our instructions.
- Authorities — only when required by a valid legal request or to protect the safety of members.
6. Your Rights
You have the right to:
- Access the personal information we hold about you
- Correct inaccurate or incomplete information
- Request deletion of your account and personal data
- Withdraw consent for non-urgent communications at any time — every email we send includes a one-click unsubscribe link, and you can also email us to opt out
- Revoke Google’s connection to Zim-Korea Hub at any time at myaccount.google.com/permissions
To exercise any of these rights, email us at zimkoreahub@statotec.com.
7. Cookies
We use essential cookies to keep you signed in and to protect the platform from abuse. We do not use advertising or third-party tracking cookies.
8. Children
Zim-Korea Hub is not directed to children under 16. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe a child has provided us with information, please contact us and we will delete it.
9. International Transfers
Because our members are in South Korea and our infrastructure providers operate globally, your data may be processed outside the country where you reside. We take reasonable steps to ensure it remains protected wherever it is processed.
10. Changes to This Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. The "Last updated" date at the top of this page reflects the most recent revision. Material changes will be communicated to members by email or an in-app notice.
11. Contact Us
For any privacy-related question or request, contact the Zim-Korea Hub team at zimkoreahub@statotec.com.