Privacy Policy
How we collect, use, share, and protect your personal data
Privacy Policy
Last updated: May 4, 2026
By using Cogar, you acknowledge that you have read and understood this Privacy Policy.
Table of Contents
- Introduction
- What is Personal Data?
- Informing us of changes
- Applicability of this Policy
- Third-party Services
- If you do not want to provide Personal Data
- Updates to this Policy
- Personal Data We Collect
- Cookies
- How We Use Personal Data
- How We Share your Personal Data
- International data transfers
- Your Privacy Choices and Rights
- Retention of Personal Data
- Supplemental Notice for Certain Jurisdictions
- Security
- Children's Personal Information
- Contact Us
1. Introduction
Cogar Teicneolaíochta ("we", "us", "our") respects your privacy and is committed to protecting the Personal Data we process. We operate Cogar as an Irish-language social platform, together with related websites, support pages, and associated services.
This Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, transfer, and retain Personal Data when you use Cogar, contact us, or otherwise interact with us as a user, customer, applicant, partner, or vendor.
We act as the data controller for the Personal Data we process in connection with Cogar. If you have questions about this Policy, please see Section 18.
2. What is Personal Data?
"Personal Data" means information that identifies, relates to, describes, or can reasonably be linked, directly or indirectly, to an identified or identifiable natural person or household.
We do not treat deidentified, aggregated, or anonymized information that cannot reasonably be used to identify you as Personal Data under this Policy.
3. Informing us of changes
Please keep your account and contact information accurate and up to date. Where self-service tools are available, you can update your details there; otherwise, contact us.
4. Applicability of this Policy
This Policy is separate from our Terms of Service, community rules, and Child Safety Standards. It applies to the Personal Data we process through Cogar and through our support, commercial, and operational activities.
When you use services that are not controlled by Cogar Teicneolaíochta, the privacy policies of those services will apply instead.
5. Third-party Services
Cogar may include links to websites, apps, payment processors, analytics tools, developer integrations, or other third-party services. If you click through to or use them, those third parties may collect or process your Personal Data.
Cogar Teicneolaíochta is not responsible for the privacy, security, or content practices of those services. You should review their own policies before sharing information with them.
6. If you do not want to provide Personal Data
We need certain Personal Data to create accounts, deliver specific features, respond to support requests, and comply with legal obligations.
If you do not provide the information we ask for, we may not be able to give you access to some parts of Cogar, or to the service as a whole.
7. Updates to this Policy
We may update this Policy from time to time. Changes become effective when we post the revised version on Cogar.
Where changes are material, we will use reasonable efforts to notify you through the site or app, or by email if you have provided one. You should review this Policy periodically.
8. Personal Data We Collect
We, or our service providers on our behalf, process different categories of Personal Data depending on how you use Cogar.
- Data you provide: account registration details such as email address, username, display name, birth date or age confirmation, profile images, optional biography information, and security credentials.
- Content and communications: posts, replies, comments, messages, reports, support emails, surveys, feedback, and any attachments you send us.
- Transaction and commercial data: information about purchases, subscriptions, supporter payments, merchandise, and other transactions; payment card details are usually handled directly by our payment processor.
- Recovery and verification data: information we use to recover accounts, verify identity, or meet age-related or safety-related requirements where required by law.
- Automatically collected data: IP address, general location, device type, operating system, browser details, usage logs, settings, cookie identifiers, pages viewed, links clicked, session duration, and crash or performance data.
- Data from other sources: service providers, business partners, login providers, payment services, moderation or safety vendors, age or identity verification services, and people who invite you or submit reports involving you.
9. Cookies
We use cookies and similar technologies to make Cogar function, remember your preferences, and understand performance and usage. These may include strictly necessary cookies and analytics or performance cookies.
You can control some cookies through your browser settings. If you block essential cookies, parts of Cogar may not function properly. Where the law requires it, we will ask for your consent before using non-essential cookies.
10. How We Use Personal Data
We only use Personal Data for lawful, compatible, and disclosed purposes. More than one legal basis may apply to the same processing activity.
- To provide Cogar and related services, manage your account, enable sign-in, and operate product features and personal settings.
- To communicate with you about your account, support issues, policy changes, service updates, and, where permitted, marketing messages.
- To operate, secure, debug, and improve Cogar, including security monitoring, fraud prevention, analytics, quality control, and new feature development.
- To process and administer purchases, subscriptions, supporter payments, and other commercial requests.
- To enforce our rules, contracts, and legal obligations, and to protect users, Cogar Teicneolaíochta, and other parties.
- To create and use aggregated or deidentified information for analytics, research, and product development.
- For other purposes that are explained to you when the data is collected, or that you expressly authorize.
11. How We Share your Personal Data
We share Personal Data only when it is needed to operate Cogar, when you direct us to do so, or when the law requires it.
- With other users and the public when you publish content, profile details, or activity that is public by design on Cogar.
- With third-party services you choose to connect or use, such as payment processors, developer integrations, or other tools you ask us to work with.
- With vendors and service providers that help with hosting, infrastructure, analytics, moderation, customer support, payment processing, security, and fraud prevention.
- With professional advisers, auditors, insurers, and legal counsel when necessary for them to provide services to us.
- With authorities, regulators, or law enforcement where we believe in good faith that disclosure is necessary to comply with law, protect safety, or investigate unlawful conduct.
- In connection with a merger, investment, restructuring, asset sale, or similar corporate transaction, subject to appropriate safeguards.
12. International data transfers
Personal Data may be transferred to, stored in, and processed in countries other than the country where you live, where data protection laws may not be equivalent.
When we transfer Personal Data out of the EEA, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Brazil, or other jurisdictions that require specific safeguards, we use appropriate protections such as Standard Contractual Clauses or equivalent legal mechanisms.
13. Your Privacy Choices and Rights
The choices and rights available to you depend on the law that applies in your jurisdiction. Common options include account settings, device controls, browser preferences, and marketing opt-outs.
- Request access to your Personal Data, obtain a copy, or receive it in a portable format where applicable.
- Request correction where your information is inaccurate, incomplete, or out of date.
- Request deletion, anonymization, blocking, restriction, or objection to processing where permitted by law.
- Withdraw consent where processing relies on consent, without affecting processing that was already lawful before withdrawal.
- Lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority or, in some jurisdictions, appeal our decision on a privacy request.
14. Retention of Personal Data
We keep Personal Data for as long as it is needed to operate Cogar, fulfill the purposes for which it was collected, comply with legal and contractual obligations, and handle safety, audits, legal defense, and dispute resolution.
When deciding retention periods, we consider the type of service involved, the nature of our relationship with you, the risk of harm if data is deleted too early, mandatory legal retention periods, and relevant limitation periods.
15. Supplemental Notice for Certain Jurisdictions
Where additional disclosures are required by law, this section provides supplemental information for users in certain jurisdictions, including some U.S. states, the European Union, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, and Brazil.
- We do not sell Personal Data and we do not share it for targeted advertising or cross-context behavioral advertising.
- We may process certain categories of sensitive information, such as login credentials, birth date or age confirmation, phone number if used for security, and payment-related or verification-related information, but only where necessary to run the service, comply with law, or protect safety.
- For data subject to EU or UK GDPR, our legal bases may include performance of a contract, legitimate interests, consent, and compliance with legal obligations.
- If the law in your jurisdiction gives you appeal rights, complaint rights, or specific response timelines, we will handle your request in line with those requirements.
16. Security
We use physical, technical, and organizational safeguards designed to strengthen the security of the information we maintain. This includes access controls, encryption in transit, monitoring, and internal operational practices.
However, no system is completely secure and we cannot guarantee absolute security or privacy of Personal Data.
17. Children's Personal Information
Cogar is not directed to children under 16, and we do not knowingly collect Personal Data from, or target our services to, children under 16.
If you are a parent or guardian and believe that a child under 16 has provided us with Personal Data, please contact us. We will review the situation and remove or delete the information as appropriate.
For more information about Cogar's platform safety approach, see our Child Safety Standards.
18. Contact Us
If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or want to exercise your privacy rights, contact us at privacy@cogar.ie.