Yo-Chi Privacy Policy (updated February 2024)

1. The Significance of Your Privacy

At Yo-Chi, we deeply respect the importance of safeguarding your personal information. This Privacy Policy serves as a comprehensive guide on how Yo-Chi collects and manages your personal data.

By providing Yo-Chi with any personal information, you agree to this Privacy Policy and consent to the collection and utilisation of personal information by Yo-Chi in accordance with it.

2. What Constitutes Your Personal Information?

In the context of this Privacy Policy, “personal information” holds the meaning as defined in the Privacy Act. In simple terms, it encompasses information that can be used to identify you personally. This may include your name, address, contact number, email, date of birth, location, profession, purchase history, payment details, social media handles, and your IP address. If the data Yo-Chi gathers can personally identify you, or if you can be reasonably identified from it, it falls under the category of personal information.

3. Why Yo-Chi Collects, Retains, Uses, and Discloses Personal Information

Yo-Chi collects, retains, uses, and discloses personal information for several purposes, including but not limited to:

• Assisting in providing goods and services.
• Addressing your inquiries and requests.
• Overseeing programs, including the Chi Club membership program.
• Assessing the potential for individuals or groups to benefit from Yo-Chi’s Communi-Chi sponsorship program.
• Handling online orders through Yo-Chi’s website or app, and processing payments.
• Communicating promotional offers and special events.
• Assessing performance and improving the operation of the Yo-Chi website or app.
• Supporting internal administrative, marketing, planning, product development, quality control, and research endeavours of Yo-Chi and its associates.
• Processing and evaluating applications, such as employment candidate selections.
• Administering agreements and providing associated services.
• Administering promotions and offers.
• Handling and responding to any complaints submitted by you.
• Ensuring compliance with applicable laws and regulations and cooperating with governmental authorities.
• Any other purposes disclosed to you during the collection of your personal information.

Yo-Chi may share the information collected with agents, employees or franchisees of Yo-Chi, or their agents or employees, but strictly for the purpose for which such information was collected. You have the option to opt out of receiving non-essential communications from Yo-Chi (except for those necessary for Yo-Chi’s business operations, eg regarding payments due). Your personal information will not be shared, sold, rented, or disclosed unless stated otherwise in this Privacy Policy.

4. What Personal Information Does Yo-Chi Collect and Retain?

The type of personal information we collect depends on our interactions with you. Yo-Chi may collect information resulting from any dealings, transactions, or interactions with you, including:

• Contact details like name, age or date of birth, address, phone numbers, social media identifiers, and email address.
• Username and password for your online account or Chi Club membership.
• CCTV or other surveillance device images when you visit a Yo-Chi venue.
• Credit card or other payment/financial information.
• Data about your Internet Protocol (IP) address, location, and visited websites.
• Information about the products you view or purchase on the Yo-Chi website or app.
• Details of any products you inquire about.
• Data you provide to Yo-Chi directly through the Yo-Chi website or in venues or indirectly through your use of the Yo-Chi website or app.
• Data provided to Yo-Chi through competitions or other promotional activities.
• Other information you may publicly disclose online (including social media platforms) or provide to Yo-Chi from time to time.
• Any data related to transactions of Yo-Chi products or services, including the last restaurant visited and purchase history.
• Any data related to transactions of Yo-Chi products or services, including the last restaurant visited and purchase history.

For prospective franchisees, Yo-Chi may collect or retain information relevant to becoming a franchisee, including:

• Contact details, including name, address, profession, occupation, job title, phone numbers, and email address.
• Financial and other related information you submit as part of your franchisee application.

For employment applicants, Yo-Chi may collect or retain information relevant to your application, including:

• Contact details, including name, age, birthdate, address, phone numbers, and email address.
• Employment history and other data submitted as part of your job application.

Yo-Chi may also collect information that is not personal information because it doesn’t identify you or anyone else. For instance, Yo-Chi may collect anonymous survey responses or aggregated data on how users utilize the Yo-Chi website and/or app.

You must not provide Yo-Chi with another person’s personal information without Yo-Chi’s explicit permission. If you do, ensure that the person has read and understood this Privacy Policy and separately consents to the use and disclosure of their personal information by Yo-Chi for the aforementioned purposes.

5. How Does Yo-Chi Collect Your Personal Information?

Yo-Chi primarily collects your personal information directly from you unless doing so is unreasonable or impracticable. We collect information directly from you when you:

• Use the Yo-Chi Website or Yo-Chi app or purchase products or services.
• Join the Yo-Chi Chi Club.
• Provide feedback, enter a competition, or participate in other promotional activities.
• Communicate with Yo-Chi for any reason, including via email or social media.
• Submit an application of any type including by not limited to employment, the Communi-Chi program, or entering competitions or any other application.
• Supply personal information to Yo-Chi in other ways.

Yo-Chi may also collect personal information about you from third parties providing services to or on behalf of Yo-Chi.

Yo-Chi does not accept or knowingly collect or process personal information of customers under the age of 18 without parental or guardian consent.

6. Cookies and Passive Information

“Cookies” are small text files sent to your computer’s hard drive through your web browser, allowing Yo-Chi systems to recognize visitors and track their activity. Yo-Chi, like many websites, collects personal information through cookies. Cookies offer insights into customer behaviour, such as visit dates, viewed pages, purchased products, and participation in promotions.

Yo-Chi uses various types of cookies, including statistical, session, persistent, and advertising cookies. These cookies serve to gauge traffic patterns, identify visited areas of the Yo-Chi website or app, and analyse transaction patterns in the aggregate. Cookies also aid in researching user habits to improve online products and services and enhance the user experience.

Yo-Chi may log IP addresses to analyse trends, administer the Yo-Chi website and app, monitor user movements, and gather demographic data.

If you use any of Yo-Chi’s location-based services or functionality on the Yo-Chi website and/or app, your location data, including the location of your device when using such services, will be handled in accordance with this Privacy Policy.

You can manage your web browser settings to disable and/or delete all cookies used on the Yo-Chi website and app. Disabling cookies may affect the functioning of the Yo-Chi website or app, and deleting cookies may result in the loss of previous preferences, such as account log-in.

Yo-Chi may use Google Analytics to track Yo-Chi website usage. Google Analytics is a website analytics service provided by Google that places cookies on your computer’s browser. The information generated by the cookies about your use of Website is transmitted to Google. This information is then used for the purpose of compiling statistical reports enabling Yo-Chi to analyse the number of visits to the Yo-Chi Website, the average time spent on the Yo-Chi Website, and the pages viewed. You can configure your browser to disable Google Analytics.

7. Who Can Yo-Chi Disclose Your Personal Information To?

We may disclose your personal information to:

• Yo-Chi employees, company officers, or related bodies corporate.
• Third party service providers and/or contractors, including but not limited to:
  • Payment or other service providers.
  • Manufacturers or distributors of Yo-Chi products.
  • Promotional partners.
  • Advertising agencies and platforms (including but not limited to Google, Meta and TikTok).
  • Website providers.
  • Professional advisers.
  • Law enforcement agencies or regulatory bodies. 
• Any other person or organisation we tell you about.

Yo-Chi may also have arrangements with third party organisations for the promotion and marketing of Yo-Chi products on their websites. When you access the Yo-Chi website or through one of these third-party websites and purchase products from us, Yo-Chi may disclose your personal information to these third parties in order to comply with any contractual obligations Yo-Chi may have.

Yo-Chi may also share non-personal, de-identified and aggregated information for research or promotional purposes in connection with providing requested information or services to you, or for the purpose of improving Yo-Chi products and services.

Yo-Chi will not sell your personal information to third parties for marketing purposes. Unless otherwise specified in this Privacy Policy, Yo-Chi will not disclose any of your personal information to any other organisation unless the disclosure is required by law, is otherwise permitted by the Privacy Act, or is with your consent.

8. Direct Marketing Communications

The objective of any direct marketing is to inform you about our products or services, and to ensure you have access to the most delicious Yo-Chi offers. To do this, Yo-Chi may send direct marketing communications and information about us and our products and services that may be of interest to you. These communications may be sent in various forms, including SMS and email, in accordance with applicable marketing laws, such as the Spam Act 2003. You consent to us sending you those direct marketing communications by any of these methods.

You may opt-out of receiving marketing communications from us at any time by contacting us using the contact information in clause 13 of this Privacy Policy or by using the unsubscribe button found in the emails you receive from us.

Yo-Chi does not provide your personal information to other organisations for the purposes of their own direct marketing activities.

9. Anonymity

Generally speaking, you can deal with Yo-Chi anonymously. However, in certain circumstances, if you choose to remain anonymous Yo-Chi may not be able to provide you with certain products or services to the full extent that we’d like to.

10. How Can You Access, Update, or Correct Your Personal Information?

You may request access to personal information Yo-Chi holds about you in writing to the Yo-Chi Privacy Officer whose details are set out below. Yo-Chi may require you to provide proof of your identity before providing such information.

There may be instances where Yo-Chi cannot grant you access to the personal information it holds. For example, Yo-Chi may need to refuse access if granting access would interfere with the privacy of others or if it would result in a breach of confidentiality. If that happens, Yo-Chi will give you written reasons for any results.

If you believe that personal information Yo-Chi holds about you is incorrect, incomplete, or inaccurate, then you may request that Yo-Chi amends it. Yo-Chi will consider if the information requires amendment. If Yo-Chi does not agree that there are grounds for amendment, then Yo-Chi will add a note to the personal information stating that you disagree with it.

11. Security

Yo-Chi takes reasonable steps to ensure the personal information Yo-Chi holds about you is protected from misuse, interference and loss, unauthorised access, modification, or disclosure.

Yo-Chi may hold your information either digitally or in hard copy. Yo-Chi will hold your personal information only for as long as required for Yo-Chi’s business purposes and otherwise as required by law. Where Yo-Chi no longer needs to keep your personal information for a permitted purpose, Yo-Chi will take reasonable steps to destroy your personal information or to ensure that the information is de-identified.

As the Yo-Chi website and app are linked to the internet, and the internet is inherently insecure, Yo-Chi cannot provide any assurance regarding the security of transmission of information you communicate to Yo-Chi online. Yo-Chi also cannot guarantee that the information you supply will not be intercepted while being transmitted over the internet. Accordingly, any personal information or other information which you transmit to Yo-Chi online is transmitted at your own risk.

12. Third Party Payment Providers

Orders submitted through Yo-Chi’s online ordering service must be paid for by credit card, debit card or other payment methods via the payment facility provided. This secure payment facility is provided by a third-party payment gateway provider. Yo-Chi does not store your full credit card or debit card details. You can save your preferred payment method through your online ordering account, but Yo-Chi’s third party provider will store these details for future retrieval. You consent to Yo-Chi sharing your personal information to any third-party payment provider Yo-Chi engages from time to time.

13. Contacting Yo-Chi

If you have a privacy enquiry or concern, Yo-Chi would like to hear about it so we encourage you to make contact in writing. Yo-Chi will endeavour to respond to your enquiry or concern within a reasonable timeframe.

The Yo-Chi Privacy Officer can be contacted using the details below:

Privacy Officer

Yo-Chi Support Office
Email: info@yochi.com.au
Post: PO Box 399, Avalon NSW 2107

If Yo-Chi is unable to resolve your concern, you can contact us directly to discuss the matter further or lodge a complaint with the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner who can be contacted at www.oaic.gov.au, enquiries@oaic.gov.au or by calling 1300 363 992

14. Miscellaneous

When we mention Yo-Chi in this policy, we mean all the companies in the Yo-Chi Group including Embrace the Chi Pty Ltd (ABN 42 639 336 226), and Marroarchi all of our other related companies.

Given the evolving nature of our business, Yo-Chi may occasionally need to update this Privacy Policy. Yo-Chi may do this at any time without direct notice to you and you can find the most recent version on the Yo-Chi website at www.yochi.com.au.

Policy date: 26 October 2023